Life After Nevermore
by KarleeRay
Summary: The Flock has just survived an apocolypse, something they were created to do. Now, they live their lives in an underground city. What happens when enhanced people have become the norm? What happens when Max and the flock get to finally live like human beings? Note: the story picks up right where Nevermore leaves off. FAX. FAX. FAX. Some Eggy. Please read! Better than the summary!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! This is my very first fanficiton so I really hope you like it! This story will probably have a good bit of FAX in it because I just love them together You don't like it? Don't read it! Anyway… PLEASE REVIEW! I am completely open to constructive criticism and your ideas. Let me know.**

**KarleeRay**

Max POV

"What are we supposed to do?" I growl, frustrated. "Just sit here? Just wait? Newsflash! That's not working! NOTHING is happening!" I find myself pacing furiously back and forth in front of Fang, Angel, and Dylan. None of them say anything, knowing that nothing they say will make me feel better about our situation.

It's been four and a half days since the apocalypse took place, since most of the human race was wiped off this planet, since absolutely everything changed. The first two days after it took place, we spent exploring. I don't think I ever really noticed before how much color this world had until it was all gone. We flew as far away from the rest of the flock, who are safe in the underground city that was built in preparation for the apocalypse, as we dared. The land is barren, all color burnt away from when the sky freaking exploded on us. After we were fairly sure we had seen all that we could see, we headed back…. And then we waited…. And waited… and waited for my mom or one of the other people in charge to come looking for us, to come find us and take us down to the city. That, sadly, has not happened yet, though I'm pretty confident they'll find a way to get to us.

It's not that being out here alone is so bad. For the first time, I truly feel like my family and I are not in danger. However, knowing this fact does me no good if I can't relax. I won't relax until I see that the rest of my flock is okay… Dylan says he got them to the caves and they went underground with my mom, but that's not really enough for me. I need to SEE them, to touch and hold them, to never let go… to finally be able to say "It's over. We made it."

Once I see that everyone I love is okay, I know I'll start to appreciate this a little more. Now, before you go putting words in my mouth, YES, it sucks that basically the entire human race has been exterminated, but now, my family and I can finally live how we deserve to. This is our time.

My hands curl into lethal fists. If there's anything I'm NOT good at, it's waiting, waiting on someone else's move and not just taking matters into my own hands. I feel completely helpless and I can't freaking stand it.

Fang catches my hand as I pace past him again. He stands, massaging my fingers until they relax and then touches the anxious lines that I know are on my forehead, smoothing out my angry scowl.

He looks me dead in the eye and my heart can't help but give a little jump, even through my anger. "They're coming. I promise."

I sag in defeat, allow my face to relax out of its scowl. Fang pulls me into his arms and I don't resist at all. It's one of my favorite places in the whole world to be.

I notice Dylan watching us from the corner of my eye. He wears a pitiful withdrawn expression and makes no move to hide the fact that he is studying us closely. Feeling a pang of sympathy in my gut, I step away from Fang, which is extremely hard to do. Have any of you been held by a drop dead gorgeous guy who holds the key to your very existence? Have any of you had to step forcibly step away from said "drop dead gorgeous guy"? Yeahhh… it ain't easy. Let me just tell you.

Fang studies me closely, the tiniest amount of confusion sparkling in his dark eyes. Oh, those eyes. I could get lost in them. I really could. They're just so perfect. At first glance, Fang's eyes look almost black, but if you take a closer look, you'll notice that there are actually golden flecks mixed in with the black. And then there's the-

"Max! Earth to Max!" Angel says, swiping her hand in front of my face. I jump in surprise and resist the urge to blush.

"Oh…umm what?" I ask, feeling dumb. Yeah there you go Max. Atta way to lead. Get majorly distracted by freaking eyes. You are pathetic. I mean, really? I literally have to stop myself from face-palming at my own stupidity.

Angel giggles and I can only guess that she has been listening in on my embarrassing thoughts. I shoot her a dark glare. "What did you want?"

Her expression sobers up and suddenly she looks like my baby again, like the fragile six year old that the flock and I rescued from the school after the erasers attacked us the very first time. I hesitate. Things between Angel and I were unstable to say the least. At first, she was just my baby. She was the kid I absolutely adored and I was fiercely protective of her. Then, she started trying to take over MY flock. She thought that she was more fit to be the leader than I was. (TOTALLY not true). She ended up betraying me and kicking me out of my own flock after Fang and I discovered our fascination which each other's lips and accidentally missed out on an eraser fight, and then I had to swoop back in and save them when Angel ( as their "leader") let them waltz right into a trap. I, obviously, was re-elected leader. Angel then proceeded in turning to the "dark side" and bringing Fang down with her which almost resulted in his death. After that, Angel seemed to have realized that maybe she didn't know what was best. She had returned to acting like my baby and sticking by my side no matter what. And yes people, this is a seven year old I am talking about. Let me just tell you now, my flock and I are not your average Jos.

So, after a moment's hesitation, I sit down and pull her onto my lap. She wraps her tiny little arms around me tightly and murmurs something in my ear.

"What?" I ask, pulling out of her embrace so that I can look her in the eye.

"I said I'm hungry," she mumbles, barely audible and I know that she feels bad for complaining.

I sigh. "I know, sweetie. We all are." As you have probably predicted, yes, most of the food on this barren wasteland was taken down in the apocalypse. As if proof of that, my stomach gives a low rumble. It's painful to be so hungry; however, going hungry is not something that is new to us.

She nods into my shoulder and I tighten my grip on her until she falls fast asleep in my arms. Gently, I lay her down on the ground and stand up.

Panic begins to set in as I look around and find that neither Dylan nor Fang are sitting where I thought they were. I spin a full 360, my heart pounding wildly.

There! I exhale in relief. Dylan and Fang stand together a good distance away from us. They're talking and the nosy part of me is dying to know what they have to say to each other that they can't say in front of me.

Sighing, I lie down next to Angel and wrap my arms around her. Suddenly, the need for sleep over takes me and I am out like a light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sooo here's the new chapter. Hope you like it. Please review! It will give me inspiration!**

**KarleeRay**

I wake up to the warmth of a fire and notice with a start that the sun has gone down.

"Hey…there she is," Fang coos softly into my ear and pulls me into his arms as I sit up. My lips turn up into a smile and I snuggle up to his chest, thankful for his warmth. The nights out here are extremely cold while the days are extremely hot.

Dylan sits across the fire from us, his chin resting in his hands. I suddenly feel very sorry for him.

"Hey Dylan…why don't you come over here and stop being such a loner?"

He stares at me blankly and I give him a small smile that he does not return. He does, however, end up getting up and coming to sit next to Angel, Fang, and I.

The silence that follows is somewhat awkward, and I scramble in my head for something to say to Dylan to make him feel not so left out.

"What do you think the others are doing?" Angel asks, softly, staring blankly into the fire.

"Stop," I reprimand her lightly. "Don't hurt your eyes. We don't need another blind bird kid running around." My referral to Iggy, makes my eyes start to prick. God, I miss them so much. The need to see the rest of my family is almost unbearable.

I feel Fang stiffen up and know he is experiencing the same emotions. My hands run absent mindedly up and down his arms as an act of comfort.

"I bet they're missing you guys as much as you're missing them," Dylan offers, gracing us all with the beauty of a small smile.

My brow furrows. "I bet they're missing you too, Dylan." How can he say that like he hasn't been a part of everything we've gone through these last couple of months?

He snorts at me and shifts his gaze to the sky. "I mean it," I persist. For some reason, I feel the strong need for him to believe my words. "We've been through so much together in the short time that we've known you. I mean, God! We survived a freaking apocalypse together and you still don't think you're worth anything to them? You're a part of us now." I reach out and take his hand into my own. "Whether you like it or not."

Fang goes rigid beneath me and I quickly yank my hand out of Dylan's. Great Max. Could you go five minutes without messing something up?

I look down at my feet, praying that Fang understands that I was just being friendly.

"You think so?" Dylan sounds genuinely surprised.

"Yeah." My eyes don't leave the ground.

"Thanks Max." I look up to find Dylan smiling warmly at me and I can't help but smile back.

"I'm gonna get some air," Fang mutters and I feel the absence of his arms around me. He stands up and walks away from us, fists stuffed into his pockets.

Inwardly, I sigh. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

I considered going after Fang and consoling him but then decided that Fang was a big boy who needed to learn to trust his girlfriend. Yeah, there, I said it. I, Maximum Ride, am Fang's girlfriend. Who woulda ever known?

Angel's voice filters into my head. _ He's upset._

_ I know. I know. But I didn't do anything! _I protest. _I was just trying to make Dylan feel less left out! He can't be mad at me for that, right?_

I look across at Angel out of the corner of my eye. She's staring intently into space. She's listening.

_Nah. I think he's just jealous. You didn't do wrong anything, Max. _Her eyes flicker over to mine. _You're the leader. You're used to comforting and that's all you did, comforted someone who needed it._

I nod slightly, feeling encouraged by her words. She was right after all. I didn't do anything wrong. Still, I hated the thought of Fang being angry with me. Things were just smoothing back out with us and I was fretting at the thought of him leaving me over something so trivial, even though at the back of my mind I knew Fang would never do that.

Dylan scooted closer to me, and I let him, feeling tired and defeated. He smiles warmly at me. "So… you really think that I'm one of the flock now?"

I sigh. "Sure. Yeah. That's one way to look at it." My heart was so not in this conversation.

He's quiet for a moment. "I meant what I said you know? I'm never going to give up on you. I can't. You're literally the only one for me."

I choke. I thought we were past this! I am about to protest when he slides a hand onto my thigh. I freeze. Whoa there. I thought this was a friendly conversation!

I begin to stand when a voice stops me dead in my tracks.

"If you have any idea what's good for you, you'll take your hand off her leg and move away," Fangs says, the quiet deadly tone of his voice making me want to tremble.

Dylan stares up at him, not removing his hand, so I do it for him, throwing it back at him with forcefulness. I quickly stand and Fang grabs my arm and pushes me behind him protectively.

"And what if I don't know what's good for me? Am I going to have to kick your sorry butt again? Seriously? It was fun the first time. Now, it's getting old." Dylan sneers, bowing up to Fang. Fang growls, and begins to lunge but I know him too well and am already in between them before they can do anything.

"Stop!" I growl, extremely annoyed that these two can never seem to keep their anger in check. I bet you all predicted that they both skillfully ignored me and you all would be correct.

"Max," Fang grounds out, struggling to keep his voice even. His body trembles with rage. "Get out of the way."

I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him, but his attention is not on me. All of his focus is on Dylan. Fang seriously looks like he could kill the kid. I would never understand why they had to hate each other so much. They couldn't even be in the same room without going at it.

"Would you two grow up already?" I snarl. "I mean come on! Get over yourselves! This is ridiculous and I'm sick of it! Back up!" I give Dylan a hard push that sends him stumbling backwards.

"He started it," Dylan protests. Figures. Put all the blame on my guy.

"And I'm finishing it. Go cool off, both of you!" When neither of them moved I turned and gave Fang a hard shove instead. Then, I took a threatening step back towards Dylan and he threw his hands up and backed away in surrender.

"Gah! You two are pathetic!" I growl and stalk away from them both. I go as far away from them as I dare without letting them get completely out of my sight. You just can't be too careful.

I lie down on the ground and try to ignore the chilly night air. It's kind of creepy out here all alone. Everything is so unbelievably dark that it's hard to see anything really, though there's not much to see in the first place.

After a while, my teeth begin to chatter and my body starts to tremble against my will. Gah, it was cold!

I stayed there as long as I could, hoping that they got the point that I did not want to be around them, and then grudgingly got up and headed back towards the fire. Fang and Dylan were, for obvious reasons, sitting on complete opposite sides of the fire, and Angel was curled up next to Fang. I melted a little. They were so cute with their arms wrapped around each other. I swear if I had had a camera with me, I would have snapped a picture and kept it with me for the rest of my life. Resisting the urge to smile at Fang's relaxed, loving expression towards Angel (that is not an expression that we get to see very often), I pointedly sat down beside Fang and Angel, hoping that Dylan took the hint to butt out. However, I did not even attempt to touch Fang, just so that he knew I was angry with him too.

The fire felt AH-MAZING on my freezing skin, and I quickly found myself drifting back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I understand that the first two chapters may have bored you a little but I promise it will get better! Keep reading and REVIEWING!**

**KarleeRay**

"Max! Max wake up!" Angel chirped in my ear. I slowly began to stir and then noticed that there were arms wound protectively around my waist and I was tucked neatly into the rock hard chest of my smoking hot boyfriend. Fang's even breathing made me want to go right back to sleep and I began to close my eyes again to do just that.

"What?" I groaned, snuggling up to Fang's chest. God, he was so warm! I never wanted to leave this place. He was just-

"Max! Listen!" Angel tried again. My eyes snapped open at her giddy tone of voice, and I felt Fang begin to stir.

"What Ange? I'm listening," I manage to mumble, my voice muffled.

Angel grabbed my wrist and started trying to pull me to my feet. "Trust me, Max. You're gonna want to see this."

Seeing that she wasn't going to let this go, I stood up, my muscles groaning from sleeping on the hard ground. Fang, feeling the absence of my body, sat up and blinked up at us groggily.

He looked at me with a question in his eyes. 'What's going on?' I shrug and turn my attention back to Angel.

"Max wake up!" She laughs, reaching up on her tip toes to slap my cheeks softly with her hands. "Look! They're coming! They're almost here! I can hear them again!"

My heart begins to pound. Them? She can't mean—

My thoughts break off as Angel lets out an ecstatic squeal. She grabs my hands and starts to run. "Come on!"

I follow her, confused. "Angel, I-". My sentence is stopped short as I look up in the direction Angel is pulling me. It's still dark out, but I can just make out the faint outline of seven people walking towards us far off in the distance. I quickly put two and two together, Angel's giddiness and the seven new people on this deserted wasteland. It's got to be my flock. It has got to be!

Before I even know what's happening, my feet are carrying me as quickly as they possibly can towards these figures. I hear Angel's laugh ring out behind me as her little legs struggle to keep up. I take a glance back as I'm sprinting and see Fang and Dylan breaking into jogs to come after us. I consider waiting for Angel, but quickly dismiss the idea. I am a momma bear who hasn't seen her cubs in a full week. I am unstoppable.

Three of the figures ahead of me break into sprints toward us too, and I know, I just know that it's my Iggy and my Nudge and my Gasman.

A mere thirty seconds later, I find myself being picked up and twirled around by Iggy. He winds his sturdy arms around me and I hold him tightly, my feet not even touching the ground.

"Thank God," I murmur into his shoulder and he nods in agreement. He then sets me down, and I turn and sweep the Gasman and Nudge into a fierce hug, holding them as close to me as I possibly can. I notice with a start that both of them are crying silently onto my shoulders and my own eyes start to water. "Hey…It's okay. We're all okay. Everything's fine now."

"I didn't think we were ever going to see you guys again," Nudge gushed through tears. "We were so scared, Max. So scared. We didn't even know if you guys were alive, and I started to picture my life without you all and I got really sad and I realized I don't tell you how much I love you enough because I do, Max. I love you so so much. I wouldn't survive without you! I'm sorry it took us so long. We tried and tried to come, but they said we had to wait. I bet you were scared out here too. I don't like it out here. It's kinda creepy. And its sooo empty and sooo cold. ZOMG! How did you guys stand it out here? I mean-"

Laughing, I wrap my hand over her mouth in an attempt stop her motor mouth and she gives me an embarrassed smile and then leaps out of my arms and over to Fang who has just arrived. She hugs him tightly with both arms. He lets her, though he goes rigid and only returns the hug with one arm. Yeahh… he's not the huggiest person, but we make do. A half-smile hangs on his lips and I know how happy he is to see them again.

Reluctantly, I release Gazzy and watch as he hugs Fang, Angel, and Dylan. A huge smile is plastered onto my face. They're okay. They're really okay.

My thoughts are so consumed with my flock being together that I forget all about the four other figures we saw until they approach us.

"Mom!" I cry, making my way towards her. She envelopes me in an unbreakable hug, well okay I could have broken out of it if I wanted to, but I didn't. She strokes my hair and I feel her tears soaking into my shirt.

"Max… I was so worried about you! We came as soon as possible! Let me see you… Hold still, let me see you." Mom pulls back so she can study my face closely.

"I'm fine, Mom. I swear, we're all fine," I assure her. She looks skeptical but releases me. Glancing around, I see Iggy standing off to the side, holding Ella's hand. Her eyes are trained on me. She's waiting her turn, I realize.

"Ella!" I run toward her and her face lights up. She pulls her hand out of Iggy's and pulls me into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Max," She whispers, softly.

"Yeah me too," I say, laughing. "You and I have lots to talk about." My eyes dart quickly to Iggy and then back to her, and she blushes bright red.

"I'll tell you everything once we get back," She promises. "Oh Max! You just have to see it! You have to see how well prepared they were for all of this. It's huge!"

"What's huge?" I ask, confused.

"Well the city, silly. The underground one. It is enormous. You have to see it to believe it really, but it's amazing. You have to give them kudos. It's like a real city. There's shopping and restaurants and doctor's offices and hospitals and entertainment and hotels and houses. Oh and they're still adding on to it! I know you're probably nervous about being stuck underground but uhhh the ceiling is high enough so that you guys can fly and stuff. Plus, there's a ton of uhh enhanced people so you guys will fit in great!"

My eyebrows are raised. Interesting. I have to admit, I'm impressed. I search Ella's face and realize that there's something she's biting back.

"What? What is it?" I interrogate her.

"Well, um there's also schools and uhh we have to go. Iggy, Nudge, and I are already enrolled at Oxford High and mom said we'll enroll you and Fang when we get back."

My shoulders sag in defeat. My experiences with schools are not great.

"Max, I think this will be good for you, really. You can finally be a normal kid with me." Ella smiles. "You don't have to hide who you are anymore. You'll be accepted. Promise you'll give it a chance?"

I want to say no. I don't want to go to school, at all, but Ella just looks so hopeful and happy that I can't resist. Slowly, I nod, and her smile immediately grows.

"Thanks Max! I can't wait to go to school with you! We start next week!" She pulls me into another fierce hug and then returns to Iggy's side and takes his hand again. Iggy's smile could light up the whole world, I swear it, and I feel my own lips mimic his.

Suddenly, there's a strong pair of toned arms encircling my waist from behind. I know without looking that it's Fang. I would know those arms anywhere. He rests his head on my shoulder and I lean into him, grateful that he's not still upset about earlier.

"Ready to go see our new home?" He whispers, right in my ear, and I can't stop the delicious chills that run across my body. I turn around in his arms, go up on my tiptoes, and press my lips gently to his. I want more, and he wants more, but I still feel slightly embarrassed with the whole couple thing around the flock. So, I pull back and smirk at him.

"Let's do this."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter… just a warning… this one is a little uneventful, but I hope you still enjoy it! Review! Review! Review! Please… it is not that hard and I would love you forever and ever. Are you liking my story? Hating it? Let me know!**

**KarleeRay**

"Max! Max wake up! Wake up!" I groan rolling onto my side and pulling the covers up over my head.

"Go away," I moan into my pillow. Angel giggles and begins to jump up and down on my queen sized bed.

"Angel!" I snap, jack-knifing into a sitting position and whipping my hand out to give her hard hit to the leg, not hard enough to really injure her but hard enough to get the message across.

She squeals in pain but her smile sticks and she falls off the edge of the bed. I quickly lie back down and pull the covers back over me.

"Time for school, time for school, time for school," Nudge sings, dancing into my room. Nudge, unlike me, was extremely excited about this. I peek over the edge of the covers and squint at her. Her curly mane of hair has been expertly straightened into feathery wisps, and she's wearing a dress, like a real dress. Okay fine, it's a casual sun dress but still, I feel that it's a bit much for school. However, she does look gorgeous, the blue of her dress making her caramel skin radiate. She gives me a bright smile and I roll my eyes at her.

"Come on, Max! It's time to get up! Can I dress you please? Can I do your hair? Maybe a little make up. You look tired. Did you not sleep well? ZOMG! I'm so excited Max! Is this dress too short? I don't think so. What do you think?"

"Oh my God Nudge!" I yell, loudly enough for the whole house to hear. "My ears!"

"Oh fine! Be late for our first day of school, "Nudge trills, grabbing Angel's hand and skipping with her out of my room.

Finally. I roll over onto my stomach and drift quickly back to sleep. School, schmool.

What feels like mere seconds later, I am roused back to consciousness by a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Max, honey, it's time to wake up. You don't want to be late."

Actually, being late sounds great mother dear. I push her hand off my shoulder and roll over on my side.

"Max," Mom says, her voice growing stern. "Get up. You have school. I'm coming back in five minutes and you better be up and getting ready."

I groan again, loudly enough for the house to hear and then sigh, defeated. My muscles groan as I walk down the hall and into the bathroom. I quickly brush my teeth, splash some water on my face, and run a brush through my wavy hair. It's actually willing to cooperate now that brushing and washing it has become a regular thing. Satisfied with my appearance, I head out of the bathroom and back down the hallway.

"Morning Max," Gazzy chirps as he walks past me.

I drop a quick kiss on the top of his head and keep walking. "Morning Gaz."

As I walk into my room, I see an outfit has been laid out for me on my bed, consisting of skin tight skinny jeans, a black blouse with a hot pink belt cinching its waist, and black leather boots. The outfit is hot, yeah, I'll admit, but it's not for me. Snorting, I ignore it and walk to my closet. I pull out a pair of boot cut jeans, making sure that they're the name brand ones that Nudge got me so that she won't feel so bad when she sees I have ignored her outfit choice for me. Then, I pull out a simple black V-neck shirt (no more windbreakers for us since we don't have to hide our wings anymore) and my black converse. Nudge won't like it. It's too laid back, but for me, this is as good as it gets. Actually, this is better than good. This is great compared to what I have been accustomed to wearing my whole life, goodwill jeans and blood stained t- shirts.

Quickly, I throw on the outfit I have picked and survey myself in the mirror. The jeans hug my skinny legs and they have blinged out wings on both back pockets. That was my favorite part of them. I thought my outfit looked fine.

Satisfied, I turn and grab my backpack off of the floor and head downstairs. Most of the others will probably already be waiting downstairs in our massive kitchen. Yes I said "our" because this is now our house. I know. Weird, right? We have a house now. A real one. Our very first.

After we had finished with our reunion above ground, Mom had introduced me to the other two figures that we had seen up above, Dr. Relaine Oxford and Isabelle Burks. I learned that they are two of the most important people in this underground city that has become our home, and my mother had to convince them that coming up there to rescue us was a good idea. When they finally agreed, they insisted that they oversee the mission, hence their presence in our reunion. When they brought us down to the city, I felt overwhelmed and sick for a few long days. I was claustrophobic and felt panicked and trapped. However, I became used to it. After I was accustomed to it all, I began to finally grasp the magnificence of the city itself. It really was amazing. It looked just like your average city. No one would ever know that it was underground and filled with enhanced beings like yours featherly. I was even more impressed though when my mother drove us through a neighborhood and stopped in front of a beautiful two story house. She turned to us with a delighted smile on her face and said "welcome home". It was an eight bedroom house, meaning that everyone got their own bedroom. Nudge and Angel decided that they wanted to share a room, leaving us with one guest room. All the bedrooms were upstairs and the massive kitchen and living room were downstairs. The whole thing was like an insane dream that I never wanted to wake up from.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty!" Ella trills as I mope into the kitchen and slump into one of the chairs at the bar. "You're the last to arrive! Always got to make a grand entrance, huh?"

Making sure my mom isn't looking, I quickly flip her the bird, which only results in her giggling.

Fang drops a loaded plate of breakfast in front of me and rubs small circles into my back. "Eat," He orders. "It'll make you feel better."

Well, that's not something you have to tell me twice. I quickly dig into my food without hesitation, savoring the taste of the bacon. I've always loved loved loved bacon, but it was never something that we got to eat very often being on the run.

"My outfit was better," Nudge says, breezing past me and into the living room.

"Better for who? You or me?" I counter. "You knew I wouldn't wear it."

Nudge huffs, but ignores my comment.

"Alright kids! To the van!" Mom yells, coming down the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the new chapter. Please review! I even gave you a little FAXY moment at the end sooooo pretty please review!**

**KarleeRay**

The ride to school was quiet and tension filled, everyone anxious to see where they would be spending most of their time until they graduate.

When we pulled up in front of the school, Fang let out a low whistle.

"No kidding," I agree. The school was enormous, looking sleek and modern and there were kids our age everywhere, covering the entire front lawn. Most were in large clusters, already forming cliques. Internally, I groaned, as Ella, Iggy, Nudge, Fang, and I got out of the car. We waved goodbye to my mom who was taking the younger kids to their middle school.

Then we just kinda stood there, bewildered and overwhelmed. Even Nudge looked like she felt a little in over her head. Then, almost as if there was some unspoken agreement, we started slowly ambling up the front concrete walkway towards the front doors of the school. I began to notice that everyone was starting to look at us. "Is that The Flock?" "Whoa! That's that Maximum Ride girl!" "I don't see why everyone is so smitten with them!" "Dude! She's friggin hot! I would totally tap that!" "Why are they so special?" "They're like my idols!"

We all carefully ignore the undercurrent of whispers. So much for fitting in. We only just got here and all the attention was on us.

"ZOMG! This is sooo exciting!" Nudge trills, apparently overcoming her nerves. "Oh Max! I think we're going to fit in here! This is just so great!" Her brown eyes light as she looks around, taking everything in. "Look at all these people! Do you think I'll be popular here?"

"Sure Nudge. Who wouldn't love you?"

"Umm maybe someone who values their ears," Iggy mutters, darkly and Nudge's beautiful smile falters. Iggy seemed to be dreading school as much as I did. Ella wraps a comforting arm around his waist, but I, on the other hand, elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Ow!"

"That comment was not necessary," I tell him. "Just because you're unhappy doesn't mean everyone needs to be."

He starts to argue with me, but I cut him off. "Look, let's just go get our schedules."

As we're walking up the stairs, I notice a girl with deep red hair and sparkling blue eyes, eyeing Fang down like he's a last meal. I glare daggers at her, but she doesn't seem to notice anything but Fang. A dark churning feeling starts up in my stomach. So that's what this was gonna be like? Feeling very possessive, but not caring, I grab Fang's hand and pull his arm around my shoulders. He looks at me in surprise and then smirks, seeming to see right through me. I simply stare back at him, daring him to say anything. He doesn't, just pulls me closer as we walk and buries his nose in my hair. I look over at the girl, to make sure that she is seeing that Fang is taken and this time she meets my eye. Her stare is icy and there's a hidden threat somewhere in there. I almost laugh, two can play at that game, sweetie. I know that my glare is scary as all get out when I want it to be and I muster all of my anger into my eyes. My message is clear. Back off.

20 minutes later, we're gathered in the main hallway comparing our individual class schedules. I have three classes with Fang, Chemistry, English, and Basic Hand to Hand Combat Training. Yeah. You heard that right. Basic Hand to Hand Combat Training. It's a class now, a required class. You have to take it, not that I'm complaining. I don't ever want to get soft on my fighting skills. Suddenly, I'm feeling optimistic. Yes. Fighting class is the key to this girl's heart.

"Basic Hand to Hand Combat Training?! What?! I don't know how to fight," Ella whines, panicking. I give her a smug smile and she glares at me.

"I think that's the point Ella. Everyone should know how to defend themselves."

Nudge nods in agreement. "Besides, you, Max, Fang, and I all have that class together. We'll help you out."

"The bell's about to ring," Fang mutters, glancing at his watch. Butterflies flutter in my stomach, and I feel very vulnerable. I take a shaky breath, suddenly dizzy.

Fang takes my chin in his hand and turns me to face him. His face is impassive as always, but I see sparks of worry planted deep into his eyes. "You okay?"

I nod. "Just a little overwhelmed, I think."

He looks at me for a moment and then pulls me away from the group and down a deserted hallway.

"Maybe this will calm your nerves," Fang whispers and brings his lips down on mine. The kiss starts off sweet and innocent, but quickly picks up the pace. I tangle my hands in his silky hair and feel his hands running down my back. They linger at the hem of my shirt, and then he pushes it up slightly, touching the bare skin at my waist. His tongue brushes my lips and I swear I'm touching Heaven.

A shrill bell rings out, and I jerk away from Fang, sighing in relief when I realize that no one has walked over and seen us.

I look at Fang. "You shouldn't have done that. We could have gotten caught. It's not fair, you taking advantage of me like that."

He smirks in amusement. "You didn't seem to mind. In fact, if I didn't know any better, Maximum, I'd say you enjoyed it," He teases, arms wrapped around my waist pulling me tightly against him.

"Well it's a good thing you know better, then," I laugh, pulling my body away from his with great effort. "Come on. Let's go to class."


	6. Chapter 6

**I actually kind of like the chapter. I hope yall do too… however I'll never know if you don't review!**

**Karlee Ray**

My optimism quickly went downhill when I realized that none of my friends were in my first period Basic Math class. They all left me standing in the hallway alone in a mass of anxious students, not sure where to go. Room 306. Okay. I can do this. I don't need them. I choose one of the three hallways coming off the main hallway at random, and by some stroke of luck I find room 306 at the end.

I sigh with relief that I wouldn't be tardy to class on my first day and shove open the door. The classroom is about half full, with most of the students standing and talking at random desks. I lift my chin up high making sure that I have a confident air about myself, and choose a desk at the back of the room.

Over the course of about two minutes, the rest of the students in the class filter into the room. I almost growl out loud when the red head from the stairs outside struts into the room with two other girls. She spots me and her eyes narrow, but she quickly shrugs me off and sits down in the front row with her entourage at both her sides.

"Hello class! Please, take your seats." A woman with creamy white skin enters the room. She looks young, maybe mid-thirties. Her dark brown hair is twisted into a tight bun and she wears a black blazer with a black pencil skirt and heels that I would literally break my ankle in. To my surprise, she actually smiles, amused, when no one listens to her. She sets her coffee down on her desk and takes a few minutes to organize her things, actually allowing the students to continue their conversations. After a moment, though, she stands. "Alright, alright, alright, everyone quiet down. Take your seats. Listen if you respect me, I'll respect you. I get that you're all excited, but it's time for class to start." There are multiple groans from people in the class. "I know, I know, back to school, you poor babies. But, hey, I promise to make math as fun as I possibly can," She promises, and I find myself taking an immediate liking to her. "My name is and I am obviously your math teacher this year. Now, I know this is math class, but I wanted to kind of take this first week and make it a class where we just get to know each other. How does that sound?" She smiles, expectantly, but seems not to take offense when no one answers. "Okay well, first off I would like to go around the room and have everyone stand up and state their name and a little about themselves." This actually gets a response out of the students, a negative one and I'm with them. I really don't want to do this. I mean what am I supposed to say? _Hi. I'm Max. I grew up in a cage, spent my life on the run, survived an apocalypse, and now I'm here in school when I would rather be anywhere else. _Yeahhh. That would go over just great.

I sigh as one by one the students around me stand up and give a freaking biography about themselves. I'm not really interested, but I make an effort to listen. There's a Susan. She's Asian and apparently is a super genius. There's a Todd who says he has gills. There's a Katie who claims to be super-fast. Oh and that red head girl I can't stand. Her name is Alexandra and she claims she has no super power except for her beauty. Figures. I just want to stand up and strangle her.

The boy beside me stands and I realize I'm next. "Hi. My name is Trent. I'm 17 and I survived an apocalypse," He jokes and I find myself laughing along with the rest of the class. He's tall and tan, with toned arms. He has dark brown hair and bright blue eyes with a smattering of freckles running across the bridge of his nose and cheek bones. He's attractive, I realize, and look around to see several girls swooning. "Yeah. Nothing special about me, never been experimented on or anything, I just have family in high places. Isabelle Burks is my mom."

Isabelle Burks. Isabelle Burks. Why does that name sound familiar? Oh! Wait! Isabelle Burks, yeahhh, the woman who rescued us from above ground.

I glance back up to find Trent sitting down and all eyes turning to me. Shrugging, I stand up. I tilt my chin up, making myself look arrogant which is a good thing. People pick on insecure people. "Hey. My name is Maximum Ride. I'm 15… roughly. I don't really know my birth date," I say and a few people in the room nod sympathetically in understanding. "Umm yeah nothing special about me either unless you count the gills, the super-speed, the wings or the wicked fighting skills," I joke and everyone seems to relax a bit. I hear multiple chuckles and I look up to see smiling widely at me.

I start to continue when someone cuts me off. "I think pretty much everyone here knows who you are Max," an attractive guy with blonde hair says to me, smiling warmly. I find myself smiling back and shrugging.

"Just trying to follow the rules," I tell him, sitting down, and he laughs.

"Yeah, I've heard around that you're real good at that," he teases. My jaw drops in mock surprise and he grins again, and then turns to face back towards the front of the room.

A few more people introduce themselves after me but I'm not really paying attention. When everyone is done, stands again. "Alright, boys and girls, we only have about ten minutes left of class and I would like to let you all have that time to get to know each other. You may talk quietly amongst yourselves. I'll be at my desk if you need me."

I feel very awkward for a few moments, not sure if I really want to talk to any of these people.

"I like your shoes," The boy sitting beside me offers. Trent. That was his name.

I stare down at my converse. "Really?"

"Nah, I was just looking for a good conversation starter and I failed miserably," he says with a completely straight face.

I laugh. "Okay, okay. You're witty, I'll give you that much."

He grins, showing off perfect pearly white teeth. "Wow. The great Maximum Ride just gave me, a lowly human, a compliment? I don't think I'll ever recover from that."

I start to snicker but stop myself. "Don't call me that," I say, seriously. "Everyone around here is holding my name like it's some high and mighty thing when in reality, half the students here are enhanced and have been through the same things."

He nods, sobering up. "Well yeah, but from what I've heard, you're a little bit on the extraordinary side."

"I guess so," I mutter, struggling to be humble. I flutter my feathers just a little bit to prove my point and Trent stares in wonder.

"That's incredible. What's it like to fl-"He breaks off at the sound of the bell. We stand and put on our backpacks and he stares at me like there's something he wants to say. I look at him expectantly, but when he says nothing, I shrug.

"See ya later," I call over my shoulder as I walk out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**I like this chapter. I got to do a little bit of FAX. YAY! Anywho… Review, review, review!**

**KarleeRay**

As I walk down the hallway, I begin to pick up bits and pieces of people's conversations. I know, I know, it's wrong to eavesdrop, but they were just talking so loud and my raptor hearing couldn't help but pick out a few things…. Things that made my blood boil.

"Oh my gosh! That Fang kid is like so hot!" "I would do ungodly things to that bird kid, Fang." "OMG! He makes me melt! He's all dark and mysterious… Are he and that Maximum Ride chick dating? Because like he could have any girl with the snap of his fingers and she's like all boyish…"

I glare daggers at them all, but they don't even seem to notice. Then, as I walk past a group of muscular jock looking dudes, I pick up something even more interesting… my name.

"How much you wanna bet I can get that Maximum Ride chick to bang me before the end of this year?"

"I don't think she's like that…. Besides, even if she was you wouldn't stand a chance."

"Yeah I would. It's common knowledge that hot people attract each other. I'm hot and she's hot so, it makes perfect since."

Okay. Enough is enough. I turn on my heel and march back towards the sexist pigs. I can only hold my tongue for so long.

"Actually," I say, snidely. "It's common knowledge that _stupid_ people attract each other. I mean, look at you guys. You seem practically attached at the hip."

They stare at me, slack jawed. With that, I stalk away.

"Told you she wouldn't go for you….. She's even hotter when she's mad."

I resist the urge to scream in frustration and continue stomping down the hall.

"That's your boyfriend, isn't it? The one all the girls are dying over?" I look to my right, startled to see a girl with beautiful jet black hair trotting along at my side.

"I, umm, yeah. Fang is… he's my boyfriend, yeah," I say stumbling over my words, still confused by her abruptness.

"Well you'll be happy to know that I, at least, can respect boundaries. I think it's really not cool how they're all going on about him right in front of your face. I'd hold him tight if I were you. Alexandra's already plotting against you," She says, referring to that awful red head.

I grin at her, liking how straight up she was with everything. She seemed like a cool girl. "I mean yeah it's really annoying," I admit. "But I'm not too worried about it. I'm pretty confident that I can hold on to him. After everything we've endured together, it's gonna take more than just some dumb swooning high school girls to break us apart. And as for Alexandra, well, I can handle her."

"I have no doubt that you can," She says, smirking. "I've heard a lot of stories about you, Maximum Ride."

I give an exasperated sigh. "Is there anyone who doesn't know who I am?"

"Sure. There are some, but you're practically legend. I pity the fool who messes with you."

A feeling of pride surges through me. Dang right. I have got one sick reputation and by sick I mean totally awesome. Yeah… you can't mess with Max.

"I think we should be friends."

I do a double take. Say what? This girl has no filter. She just blurts out whatever she's thinking.

Upon seeing my bewildered and confused expression, she decides to elaborate. "You're like one of the only girls in this place that I can respect. I respect who you are Max. You stand up for yourself, you're not afraid of anything, and you can kick some serious butt. You're a real person. Real people are hard to come by," she sighs. "Everyone is so fake these days, being nice to you to your face and then waiting till you're out of earshot to slander everything about you. I had real friends… before the apocalypse. They were hard to find, but I had them. They're all dead now…. Anyway, that leads me to think that if you find a genuine, real person, you should hold onto them you know?… So what do you think? Wanna be my friend Max?"

I'm still in a slight state of shock, but I figure that this girl seems cool enough and everything she said, I agree with. Eh, what the heck. If I don't like her, I'll drop her.

"Yeah… sure. That'd be cool," I say and she grins.

"I'm Carter, by the way."

"Cool name," I comment.

She shrugs. "Can I see your schedule?"

I hand it to her and then glance ahead while she studies it. I see Fang at the same time she does, waiting for me at the end of the main hallway. I hesitate, not wanting to just leave her but desperately wanting to talk to Fang. She laughs and hands me back my schedule. "Go. I'll see you in class. We have English together this period."

I send her a grateful smile and then hurry over to Fang. His face is impassive as always, but I like to hope that he was as happy to see me as I was to see him. I bound into his waiting arms and he tucks me tightly into his chest. That's one thing that I just love. You see, I told you Fang wasn't the huggiest person and you were lucky to be able to get one arm out of him. That used to apply to me, but now it doesn't. Now, he holds me just as tightly as I hold him. It makes me feel good, needed, special.

"Who's your new friend?" He asks, curiously.

I pull out of his arms and we begin to walk to English. "Oh, that girl? That's Carter. She's cool. I like her. I think you'll like her too."

Not surprisingly, he says nothing. We pass by a group of girls and they instantly start whispering and batting their eyes at Fang, who completely ignores them.

"God don't they have anything better to do?" I rant to Fang.

He smiles and throws an arm around my shoulder. "Aww is Max feeling a little jealous?"

"Oh you wish I was jealous!" I retort, throwing his arm off my shoulder. "I just think that they're ridiculous."

His smile grows and I resist the urge to hit him. He throws his arm back around my shoulder and pulls me closer to him as we walk. "Max, you know they have nothing on you…" He whispers into my hair, making me snort. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" He stops walking, turns me to look at him, and takes my face into his hands. "Do you have any idea the affect you have on me? On most of the freaking male population? Do you know how many times I've heard your name mentioned in a crowd of guys who haven't even talked to you yet? Trust me… You have nothing to worry about."

I give him a half smile, deciding not to have this fight. Leaning up on my tiptoes, I give him a peck on the lips.

"Come on… we're gonna be late."


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is SUPER short…So sorry….I was feeling a loss of inspiration. Please Review!**

**KarleeRay**

I walk into the cafeteria with Carter and Trent ten minutes late to lunch. We have fifth period together and our teacher asked for some help hanging some of her posters on the wall.

"You guys wanna sit with me?" I ask. "My friends won't mind."

"Well if you insist," Trent jokes and Carter nods. I give Trent a playful punch to the arm and then scan the lunch room.

"Max!" Nudge yells, waving to me. "Over here!"

"There they are," I mutter and beeline towards them. Carter and Trent trail behind me, uncertain.

When we reach the table where the flock is sitting, I turn and introduce my news friends. "Guys this is Carter and Trent. Carter and Trent, this is the flock plus my sister Ella and four girls that I have never seen before."

I sit down beside Fang who is staring quietly at Trent. There's nothing hateful in his gaze. He seems mostly just curious. Silently, I loop my ankle around his under the table and he breaks his gaze away from Trent.

I glance up to see Carter and Trent just standing there uncomfortably.

"Go on," I laugh. "Sit down. We don't bite."

"That's not what I heard," Trent says, coming back into himself and sitting down.

"Well I guess that's just a risk that you're going to have to take," I tell him and he grins.

"Anything for you Max," He says goofily and I feel my cheeks heat up. He's only kidding, but I don't want Fang to hate Trent because he thinks that Trent likes me.

An awkward silence follows, and I spy Trent staring at mine and Fang's legs tangled together under the table.

"Oh hey Max! I want to introduce you to my new friends!" Nudge trills. She points to the four girls sitting with her. "This is Allie, Chantal, Chris, and Tatum."

I nod my greeting and then turn to Fang. "What's in the lunch line? I'm starving!"

"Here…. I got you some already." He grabs two loaded trays of food that I completely failed to see and sets them in front of me.

I smile. "Thanks."

I survey the food on the trays and then quickly dig in deciding that I've never been a picky eater and now is not a time to start being one.


	9. Chapter 9

**I hate this chapter. It's pretty boring and I'm really really sorry for that, but I tried to make it a little longer so that maybe you can forgive me! Don't forget to review! Criticism, praise, ideas, it really doesn't matter to me! Love it? Hate it? Let me know!**

**KarleeRay**

My next class period goes by uneventfully. However, I find myself in a very happy mood as I make my way to my Basic Hand to Hand Combat Training class. My fingers twitch at my sides, ready to take on anyone.

I meet up with Fang, Nudge, and Ella outside the door to the gym and we all walk in together. Carter is standing off to the side and I wave her over.

"I am _totally_ out of my element here," She mumbles, twisting her black hair into a high pony tail.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Besides, it's basic. You know? Like for beginners," I explain to her and she relaxes slightly.

A bald man in windbreaker pants and a blue t-shirt enters the room. "Okay! May I have your attention please? Will everyone have a seat on the floor? Thank you. Alright! Welcome to Basic Hand to Hand Combat Training. I understand that a lot of you may never have even thrown a correct punch. Please, do not freak out on me. We're going to take this slow and make sure we're all on the same page. I understand this is new to you all so just bear with me."

He disappears into his office for several moments and then comes back out holding a large cardboard box. "The school has decided to provide you with your own set of workout clothes. You can all come up and grab your correct size shirt and shorts and then head to the locker room and change. I want you all back out here and ready to work in ten minutes."

I stand and get into the long line forming in front of the box.

"I'm like so ready for this," I murmur to Fang who shakes his head in amusement.

"It's a beginners class, Max. This is not going to satisfy you."

I shake my head, ignoring his negativity. "I have been cooped up at a desk all day and now these people are giving me a chance to work on my fighting skills and you expect me not to be happy about it?"

"I wore this pretty dress to school today only to have to change out of it," Nudge complains sifting through the box of shirts. I take a medium in both the shirt and the shorts and make my way to the locker room.

Ten minutes later and we're all running warm up laps around the gym. I hear ragged breathing and dragging feet behind me and I have to hold in my laughter. This is nothing!

After about fifteen laps, Coach Lance stops us. We all spread out throughout the gym and he walks us through some excruciatingly basic fighting movies. Fang, Nudge, and I all have them down in seconds, but it's almost painful to watch the humans in the class try to execute the moves. By the time our forty five minute class period is up, I can tell that even Coach Lance is slightly frustrated.

When the bell rings, I groan. I had not gotten the release that I really wanted. Fang smirks at me as if to say 'I told you so.' And I stick my tongue out at him.

"Forget you," I snap as I push past him and out into the hall. Just one more period. One more and I get to go home.

* * *

"Oh goodness! You're home! Hi! How was your first day? Come on, tell me all about it. There are cookies in the kitchen," Mom gushes as we walk in the front door.

I speed up my pace childishly and beat the rest of them to the humungous plate of stacked chocolate chip cookies. I grab a handful and jump onto the counter top to sit.

"Well I had a great day! Everyone was so nice. I really like it there and I'm actually getting to learn. It's like a dream come true. I bet I'll even have a boyfriend by the time this year is over! It's so exciting… I've never experienced anything quite like it before," Nudge rambles, trying hard not to spew crumbs everywhere.

My mom beams at her and then looks at me expectantly. I shrug. "It was fine. I'm going upstairs." I hop off the counter and head upstairs to my room, feeling like a different person. My bed suddenly looks very inviting, so I slip off my shoes and jump into it, staring up at the ceiling. For the first time, in a very long time, I felt bored and I didn't like it, not one bit.

About five minutes later, I hear the door open and close and someone flops down on the bed beside me.

"Alright. What gives? You really gave your mom the cold shoulder down there. What's the matter with you?" Fangs asks, concern in his voice.

I roll over and face him. "I wasn't trying to be rude, I just, I don't know. I don't want to lose myself. I think I'm starting to realize how overrated being normal is… I don't want to be normal Fang! I want to be me."

Fang grabs my hands and looks me right in the eye. Had I been standing up when he did that, I knew there was a good chance I would have fallen down. God, he was just so gorgeous.

"You're never going to lose yourself, Max. I won't let you."

"But what if you can't see it? What if it's like a gradual thing that slowly happens over time? What if in a year I'm some dumb teenager who's obsessed with clothes and gossip and school? I don't want to be like that. I just feel so average! I live in my own house, I have my own room, I go to freaking High School! I'm so cookie cutter!"

And then, Fang laughs. He actually laughs at me, like outright. I just poured out my feelings to him and he's laughing at me.

I feel my face screw itself into a dangerous scowl and I slide off the bed, beginning to stalk towards the door.

"You're a real jerk, you know that?"

My hand closes around the door knob and I am just about to make my dramatic exit when I feel Fang's arms encircle my waist from behind. I begin to fight him and I feel him shaking with laughter. "Wait Max. Please. Okay, I'm sorry. I'll be serious now I swear."

"Nope! I'm never telling you anything ever again," I tell him, twisting around in his arms so that I can look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry," He whispers, leaning his forehead against mine. "Really. You can tell me anything." He gives me puppy dog eyes, and I can't help but melt a little.

"Fine. But you're on probation."

I lead him back over to the bed and he follows obediently. "Now, make up for laughing at me."

Fang lies back, staring at my ceiling. "Max the only reason I laughed is because the thought of that happening is just ridiculous. You could never be like those other girls, even if you wanted to, and believe me, I mean that as a compliment." He sits up. "It's like culture shock, sweetie. It's weird and it's different because we aren't accustomed to it, but I can promise you, it's not going to change you. Your personality is waaay too strong for that."

I seriously consider taking offense to that last comment, but I decide to just think that he meant it in a positive way.

"I love you," I murmur, laying down beside him and putting my head on his chest.

"I know," he replies and I scowl at him. "I love you too."

He grabs my face in his hands and leans up to kiss me. I meet the kiss eagerly, splaying my hands out across his hard chest. Things are just starting to heat up when I hear Nudge calling my name. I sigh, pulling away while Fang lets out a loud groan of annoyance.

"Max!" Nudge explains, barging into my room without a second thought. "_Gone with the Wind_ is on!" She flops onto the end of my bed. "Where's your remote?"

Sighing, I hand it to her and she flips on my flat screen TV. Angel joins us moments later and I question her about her first day of school. She says she made a lot of new friends, but that she had decided school was overrated.

"Shhhh!" Nudge snaps, her wide brown eyes never leaving the screen.

I lay back down next to Fang, curling into his side and he wraps both arms around me.

I try to stay awake, I really do because I know Nudge wants me to watch, but I really don't find _Gone with the Wind_ that interesting, and Fang's arms are just so warm. With that said, I was a lost cause from the start. I was out in a matter of minutes.


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's the new chapter! Yay! I kind of like this one… I got to put in some Basketball… I play basketball and I absolutely adore the sport, so I'm sorry if it's not your thing and you hate this chapter.**

**Anywho… Please review! Pretty please with grapes on top? (I hate cherries)**

**KarleeRay**

* * *

**_Three Months Later_**

"Mom! Mom have you seen my kneepads?" I yell, scampering down the stairs. God, I'm gonna be late, late for my very first game. Yeah, you heard that right, my first game. I play basketball now, and not too sound cocky or anything, but I was dang good at it.

I'm literally sprinting around downstairs in search of my kneepads, when I run directly into Fang and effectively not knock him down.

"Fang! Watch where you're going!" I retort over my shoulder, even though the collision was basically all my fault. I hear a low chuckle behind me but pay no attention to it. Kneepads. Kneepads. Kneepads.

"Looking for something?" I turn around to see Total trotting in with my kneepads in his mouth.

"Yes!" Reaching down, I snatch them out of his mouth. "And that's why you're my favorite, Total," I tell him and pat his head, before running up the stairs to my room.

I have my navy blue and white uniform on in less than a minute and then I'm heading back downstairs.

"Max! We'll be in the car! You don't want to be late, sweetie!" Mom calls and I quicken my pace.

Fang is sitting in the passenger seat of our enormous van, so I slide into the backseat beside Dylan.

He smiles at me. "You ready to play?"

"I was born ready," I say, seriously.

"ZOMG! Max I'm so excited to see you play for the first time! Are you good? I bet you are! You're gonna knock'em dead, I bet. You guys have to win… it's opening season! That would be really embarrassing to lose! Oh I bet there's gonna be so many people there! ZOMG! Good luck, Max! I'll be your loudest supporter!" Nudge chirps, rambling, and I shoot her a dark glare.

"We're not gonna lose," I tell her, confidently, though I'm not so sure on the inside. Butterflies are making their homes in the pit of my stomach. What if I mess up? Like really bad in front of everyone?

I take a deep breath. Stop this Max. Just go out there and play your game.

I walk into the gym with a little pep in my step. This really was exciting, though I would never admit it. The stands are full on both sides of the court and my team and the other team are already out there warming up. I hop the railing that surrounds the court, something that's against the rules, and join my team.

We quickly get through our stretches and form shots and then we work on lay ups and 3's. My shot is spot on. I'm easily a stand out on this team. Looking up at the score board, I'm startled to see that there's only thirty seconds left before the game starts.

"Alright, Oxford! Bring it in!" Coach Lance calls to us and we jog over to our bench.

"Listen, no holding back. I want us to get out there and start out with a bang. Play hard, play smart. Get down and play good defense. Work the ball on offence, don't take crazy shots. Be patient. Be smart. Play your game. This is our house… we will not lose, got it?"

I tap my leg impatiently, anxious to get out there. "Alright, starting five. I want Jessie, Chrissa, Lexi, Carter, and Max you jump. Team on three. One, Two, Three team!"

We walk out onto the court and I see who I'll be jumping against. She's taller than me, like way taller, but I can jump pretty high when I need to. Looking for an extra boost of courage, I scan the crowd for my family. I spot them in the top right corner. Nudge waves and gives me a thumbs-up and I smile back quickly before tuning back into the game. The ref blows the whistle and throws the ball up high. I bend my knees and then explode up as high as I possibly can. I come up just short of tipping the ball, but quickly recover and get back on defense.

I grab a man immediately. Their point guard begins to dribble down the floor and she attempts to pass it off to the right wing player. Bad choice. No one is going to get past me. I look at the point guard, reading her like an open book and see the pass coming from a mile away. The pass doesn't make it half way before I quickly steal it out of the air and head down the court for a breakaway lay-up. My shot goes in and that starts up the game.

The game was more of a battle than I thought it would be. The other school actually had some decent talents. I made good plays and I made mistakes, just like any other player. I got chewed out by my coach for bowing up to one of the girl players on the other team. What? She was doing some serious elbowing and the refs weren't calling! They stopped the game, even though there was no fight and Coach made me sit out for three minutes as punishment.

Anyway, we ended up winning the game 89-79, and I'm proud to say I scored a very good portion of those shots, more than anyone on my team.

The car ride home was filled with praises for me and Carter who was spending the night at our house. We took them like champs, working to be humble.

"I was very impressed girls," My mom says, beaming at me in the rearview mirror.

"Me too," Angel offers in her sweet little voice. "You were very good, Max."

* * *

"It really was exciting," Carter trills, coming into my room, dressed in only a towel. Her hair hangs wet down her back and she's dripping all over my floor.

"I have brothers, you know?" I snicker, referring to her lack of clothes.

"Yes, I know, but while their very hot, they're both extremely taken so it doesn't matter," She informs me, dropping her towel and rummaging through my drawers for something to sleep in. These past few months, Carter and I had grown extremely close. I guess you could say we were like best friends…. Well she was my second best friend. Fang would always be my number one. I just felt so comfortable around her and really I could and would tell her pretty much anything.

"How many times have I told you to stop flashing me?" I ask her.

"Enough times to know that I'll never listen to you." Carter pulls on one of my t- shirts and a pair of extremely short satin pajama shorts that Nudge had gotten me. "I'll be back," She tells me and leaves the room. I start to wonder where she's going and then realize I'm too tired to care.

I lie back on my bed and flip on the TV as Fang enters the room, and I try, unsuccessfully, to ignore the fact that he's dressed in only a pair of baggy sweat pants. I scratch the back of my neck and look away, trying to control my thoughts. God, his chest was just so perfect.

"Whatcha watching?" he asks, flopping down on my bed. I refuse to look at him and I swear I can see him smirking out of the corner of my eye.

"It's called a shirt Fang," I manage, sarcastically. "You should try one sometime."

After a moment, I feel his quiet laughter shake the bed. "Why? Am I making you uncomfortable Max?"

I huff, but say nothing. Suddenly, he grabs my hand and pulls me on top of him, pressing me against his bare abs in the process. I try to get up but he wraps his arms around me in a tight hold. Finally, I give up and just stare into his eyes. He leans up, kissing my neck, and I literally have to stop myself from jumping all over him.

"Breathe Max," he murmurs, into my skin and I obey, not realizing that I had been holding my breath.

Losing my control, I grab the back of his hair and yank him roughly off of my neck but only so I can have a way to his lips. I press mine down on his hungrily, and he immediately reciprocates, annoyingly pleased with himself. His hands roam up and down my back and dangerously close to my butt. His tongue traces over my teeth and I press my hands to his stomach, tracing the contours of his abs. He's perfect. I love him. I love him. I love him.

"I really prefer strawberry, but chocolate will-" Carter breaks off as she enters the room, and I quickly jump off of Fang. Fang, however, makes no attempt to move. He just lies there, wearing an annoyed expression on his face on having been interrupted. I swat his arm lightly and he receives the message, making his face impassive again.

Carter giggles, quickly recovering. "Hey Fang." She flops down on the bed beside us and hands me a huge ice cream sundae. "As I was saying, I prefer strawberry ice cream but chocolate will do." My ice cream is a considerable amount bigger than hers, and I grin. She knows me too well.

Strangely, I don't feel embarrassed at all about her walking in on us. I guess, that just goes to show how comfortable I am with her.

She grabs the remote off of my night stand and flicks through the channels, coming to a stop on Criminal Minds. Carter, Ella and I had an obsession with Criminal Minds. "Yay! It's a new one," I chirp, eyes gluing to the screen. Carter lies down beside me and soon we are in our "Criminal Minds trance" as Nudge and Iggy like to call it.

Fang quickly realizes that he's been excused and gets up. He plants a quick kiss on my forehead and murmurs a soft goodbye to Carter who isn't listening at all.

"Fang!" I call to him. "Tell Ella to come in here. She'll want to see this one."

He shakes his head, amused, and leaves the room.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sooo here's the new chapter. Yes, I realize that it's totally short and I seriously apologize for that. It's all part of the plan, I swear! Just bear with me, please, and review, review, review! You guys are _viewing_, but not_ reviewing_ and that is so not cool. Your reviews give me the inspiration that I need… Anyway, sorry but I left you guys with a cliffhanger on this one! Enjoy**

**KarleeRay**

"That chemistry test is today?" I squeak. "I thought it was next week!"

Ella shakes her head from the passenger seat. "He changed it to today….I'm guessing you didn't study."

"Nope and I'm screwed," I reply. "Do you know this stuff?" My question is directed towards Fang who is sitting quietly beside me on our way to school.

He shrugs.

"Kay then, I'm cheating off of you," I say simply and Mom feels the need to scold me for the next five minutes.

"Would you rather me fail?" I counter, looking her in the eye through the rearview mirror.

"Max," She sighs, exasperated. "Cheating is wrong. You should have studied."

"Cheating is not wrong, Mom. Cheating is making good use of your resources," I explain and she rolls her eyes.

"I gotta go with Max on this one," Dylan offers up and I smile at him.

"Thank you! Give the boy a prize!" Dylan chuckles and my mother gives him a steely glance.

She opens her mouth to go on as we turn into the school parking lot, but I quickly cut her off, tired of this argument. "Fine! Alright, I won't cheat. I'll just fail."

She shakes her head, and I think she was trying to decide whether to be disappointed or amused.

We all hop out of the car and turn to wave goodbye to my mom as she pulls away.

"I'm so cheating off you," I mutter to Fang and he smiles slightly, but says nothing.

I glance up when I hear a commotion.

"What's going on?" Nudge asks, standing on her tiptoes.

I see Carter standing off to the side and catch her eye, waving her over.

"What's going on?" I ask, bewildered.

Carter laughs. "There's a new girl. Apparently, that's some kind of huge deal."

Relief floods through me. I hadn't even realized how worried I had been. I guess with my background, you kind of always assume the worst.

Fang grips my hand tightly, seeming to understand. After giving him a grateful smile, I turn back to Carter. "You were supposed to call last night!"

Carter blushes. "I know, I know. I'm sorry I totally forgot… My mind was elsewhere."

I giggle. "Well you'll just have to tell me all about it right now." I release Fang's hand and loop my arm through hers, leaving the others behind. She doesn't resist as I drag her up the front steps of the school and sit her down on one of the benches.

"How did it go?"

"Oh it went great, Max! He was amazing… We went to the movies and then we went to get ice cream and it was just so perfect. He even paid for everything like the perfect gentlemen."

I grin my approval, glad that her date had gone well.

"Maybe we can double date sometime," I offer and she nods vigorously.

"That would be fun. Yeah, let's go this Friday. Ask Fang what he thinks, okay?"

I nod, feeling optimistic and we sit there talking until the first bell rings, signaling that it's time for class to start. Carter jumps up immediately saying that she can't be late again. She leaves me sitting on the bench by myself, seriously considering ditching. It was just one of those days.

I'm lost in my own thoughts when I hear the tardy bell ring. Crap.

Taking my time since I'm already late, I stand and put on my backpack. As I enter the front doors, I catch a flash of red hair standing outside the front office. I feel a snarl taking over my face. Alexandra. The girl turns slightly and I see that it's not Alexandra at all. Alexandra's hair is a deeper red than this girl's.

I watch her curiously, wanting to know who this unfamiliar girl was. Suddenly, she turns around completely and her green eyes meet mine. From this far away, the girl looks like Lisa, the red haired wonder that made out with Fang back in Virginia. I keep walking towards my class, getting closer and closer to passing the girl.

I look up at the last second, just as I'm about to pass her and my heart stops. What the (insert swear word of your choice)?! Upon closer inspection, not only did this girl _look _like Lisa…. She _was _Lisa.


	12. Chapter 12

**I wrote this chapter at midnight, so please excuse any mistakes that I made! And, as always, please REVIEW! I want to know how you guys are liking the story line… Again, I am totally open to criticism and your ideas! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**KarleeRay**

I swear my jaw almost hits the floor. Am I dreaming? PLEASE, tell me I'm dreaming. This has got to be a nightmare. What else could possibly explain what she is doing here?

"Oh my gosh! Max! Hi! I haven't seen you in forever!" Lisa squeals and pulls me into a hug. My body goes rigid and I make absolutely no move to hug her back. "I heard rumors that you guys were here but I wasn't sure! Well now I know!" She laughs and the sound is like nails stabbing into my ears.

I hate this girl. I hate her. I hate her so much. I thought I hated Alexandra. Uh-uh. That was nothing compared to what I felt right now. She smiles brightly at me and I flashback to when I walked in on her and Fang making out in the hallway…. the way he held her, tilted his head to kiss her better, ran his hands up and down her back like he did to me all the time now. God, what did he see in her?!

"Max… are you okay?" she asks, her forehead crinkling.

I straighten up, pulling my jaw off the floor and do my best not to give her a death glare.

"Yeah. Fine," I growl. "What are you doing here?" I was so not in the mood for small talk.

"Oh my Dad is good friends with Dr. Relaine. He used to work with him," she explains. "Dr. Relaine warned my dad about the apocalypse and said he would be more than happy to send us down here to safety…. I wanted to bring all my friends, but my father wouldn't allow it…." She trails off softly, her eyes taking on a far away look. "It really sucks what happened. I think I'm still in a state of shock. I miss everyone so much…"

I stare at her as if she has the plague. "Yeah, it does," I manage through gritted teeth. Of all people! Seriously of all the people on this planet to survive, she just had to be one of them! My life was just getting way too easy to be my life. They had to throw in some turmoil.

"Oh Max! Tell me the rest of the flock is okay! Are they here? Is Fang here?"

My stomach clenches.

"What's it to you?" I challenge, a hint of a snarl in my voice. "You didn't even know them."

"Well not for long," Lisa admits. "But there was something special about that Fang. He's so gorgeous… But you probably don't want to hear that about your own brother." She smiles, embarrassed, and my blood boils.

"Actually," I say, tightly. "Fang is not my brother…. He's my boyfriend."

Lisa recoils, shocked. "Really? I thought you were siblings!"

"Siblings that stick their tongues down each other's throats? Yeahh, not so much… We're not related in any way by blood," I tell her, starting to feel a bit defensive.

"Well, I'm happy for you then," she states, but it's clear that she doesn't really mean it….at all. "Well, I'll see you around, Max….Maybe we'll have some classes together." With that, she turns and walks away.

I watch her go, my stomach churning. Turning on my heel, I head straight to the bathroom to get a grip on myself. Relax Max. Fang loves you! Not her! He tells you this everyday…. But what if he changes his mind when he sees that Lisa's back? What if he realizes he can do so much better than me?

Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick! I can't lose Fang. I can't and especially not to her.

You are pathetic, Max. You're being ridiculous.

Taking a deep breath, I leave the bathroom.

* * *

My day only gets worse as it goes on. Between second and third period, I catch Fang and Lisa walking side by side through the main hallway. I stay quiet through both the periods I have with Fang, consumed with my thoughts. He asks me what's wrong but doesn't press the matter when I tell him nothing. I gave him a tight lipped smile, but I wasn't sure if he bought it or not. During fifth period, I am also quiet and Carter practically jumps me as we walk to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Max, tell me what's wrong. You know you can tell me anything. Come on! It's not good to hold stuff in, "she coaxes, trotting by my side.

Almost against my will, I find myself explaining everything to her. "You know that new girl Lisa?"

She nods, confused.

"Well I knew her, before the apocalypse, I mean….. Like last year, I think, the flock and I got into some trouble and we had to stay with this woman in Virginia. She enrolled us in the school that Lisa went to. By the way, this was all before Fang and I got together. Anyway one day I was just roaming the halls, waiting for my next class to start and I walked in on them making out in the hallway," I tell her, quickly, struggling to keep a whine out of my voice.

Carter's eyes widen. "Fang and Lisa?"

I nod, reluctantly. "I don't know. I guess I'm just trippin out because I don't know if Fang's feelings for her will come back."

"Oh Max! You know Fang loves you…. He's smitten with you. Trust me, I've seen the way he looks at you. Lisa was probably just a fling. She doesn't mean anything to him. You're being ridiculous, so snap out of it. Don't you trust Fang?"

"Of course!" I exclaim, exasperated. "It's _her_ I don't trust."

Carter giggles, opening the door to the lunch room. "Don't be a jealous head. Guys don't like that."

I shut up as we walk over to our table. Fang isn't there yet, but I hope he gets here soon so I can make up for the way I acted earlier.

"You feeling better?" Ella asks me.

Iggy sits up, alert. "What was wrong with her?"

"Just a bad mood," I tell him, taking a big bite of my sandwich. "Better now."

He visibly relaxes and I smile, happy to know that he cares.

"Guys this is Lisa. She's new and she's going to be sitting with us today since she hardly knows anyone."

My head snaps up. Fang. What was he thinking? Wait. Be cool, Max! You're not jealous. This doesn't bother you at all.

Fang sits down beside me and Lisa takes a seat diagonal from us. "Here," I say, pushing him the three sub sandwiches that I got him.

"Thanks," he murmurs and kisses my cheek. He looks me in the eye. "Better?" Knowing he is referring to my earlier mood, I nod, smiling, and he seems to buy it because he goes back to his food.

"We'll talk later," He says, simply after a moment of silence. Dang it. He knows me way too well.

I sigh. "Sure."

* * *

"Alright spill," Fang orders. It's about 7 at night and Fang and I are sprawled across my bed. I'm sitting up, flicking through the channels while his head rests in my lap. I softly stoke his hair away from his face.

"It was nothing Fang. Honest." Suddenly, my earlier fears seem to be very ridiculous. Sure, I don't like Lisa, but that doesn't mean she's going to steal Fang away from me. Besides…. Fang is lying in bed with whom? That's right. Me.

"I thought we were past this, Max. I don't like it when you keep secrets from me."

"It's not a secret," I insist. "It was just a bad mood, just one of those days."

"Fine." He murmurs, defeated. He closes his eyes, leaning into the hand that is stroking his hair.

"So that whole Lisa thing was weird right? What are the odds?" He muses.

My hand stops mid stroke and my body tenses. I quickly relax it though, and continue stroking, hoping that he didn't notice.

"It is weird," I mutter, but my voice comes out sounding slightly strangled.

Fang opens one eye and stares up at me. He studies me quietly and then quickly sits up. "If this has anything to do with Lisa, Max, I swear to God I-"

"It doesn't!" I snap, cutting him off. His expression softens and I pray that he isn't seeing right through me.

"You know I love you right?" He murmurs, planting a long kiss on my lips. "More than anything."

I sigh. "I know."


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay _pleaseeee_ don't be too angry with me! Just remember, I love FAX…. And things WILL GET BETTER so don't stop reading and REVIEWING! You guys are going to hate me, but that's okay, I promise to fix things as soon as possible REVIEW! I'll love you forever and ever!**

**KarleeRay**

"That smells amazing Mom," I chirp, sitting down at the table where everyone else sits, waiting. I hesitate, not sure whether to take my seat beside Fang or sit beside Carter at the end of the long table. After a moment's decision, I plop down in my chair next to Fang. I feel him looking at me, but I refuse to meet his eye.

Mom sets out all of the food on the table and we immediately begin to pile mounds of it onto our plates. It's freaking delicious as always and I eat until I literally can't eat anymore.

"Food baby," I croon, lifting up my tank top to reveal the tiny bump in my normally flat stomach.

Gazzy laughs lifting up his shirt too. "Max! I'm pregnant!" He pats the bump in his stomach, lovingly.

This sets off a round of giggles and I laugh my first real laugh in a whole week. Without thinking, I turn to Fang to see if he found it amusing. He's already looking at me and there seems to be some admiration in his gaze. My smile quickly fades as I remember why I had been avoiding him. His jaw tightens and I jerk my eyes away from him and down to the table.

"I'll be upstairs," I say and push my chair out, standing up.

"What's wrong Max?" Ella asks, sounding worried.

"Nothing," I assure her. "I just ate too much. I'm gonna go lie down."

"Know what? Me too." Fang growls, angrily standing up. Crap.

I walk quickly to the stairs and head up them, thinking maybe I can beat him and lock him out of my room. I really don't want to have this conversation because I don't know what to say.

I reach the top of the stairs when I feel someone grab my arms in a tight grip. I try to jerk away, but give that up when Fang pushes me up against the wall.

"What is your problem?" He asks, annoyed.

I stare at him in disbelief. "My problem? What's _my _problem?" My voice starts to rise and I take a deep calming breath. "I don't have a problem, Fang."

"Don't you dare," He snarls, fed up with my nonchalant attitude. "Don't you dare try and lie to me. You've been distant all week, always avoiding me. Tell me what's wrong," He says, softening. "Just tell me and I'll fix it."

I hesitate. To tell or not to tell?

My lips begin to move before I can stop them. "I'm not okay with-"

"Max! I'm leaving," Carter calls, coming up the stairs. She sees us, sees the tension in our bodies, and tries to backpedal. "Sorry! Um I'll wait." She turns, heading back down the stairs.

"No it's okay!" I tell her. "Wait… I'll walk you out." I glare at Fang and he releases me, pinning me with a look that says 'this is not over'. Reluctantly, I nod and go to join Carter.

* * *

Okay enough is enough! I know she didn't just put her hand on his arm! I know she didn't. I stand in the middle of the hallway, watching Fang and Lisa walk to class. Things were still distant between Fang and I since our "talk" never happened after I walked Carter out, and I had a feeling they were either about to get way better or way worse because I am done holding my tongue.

I wait until Lisa parts away from Fang, heading to her class, and then I march towards him, totally not caring that the tardy bell is going to ring at any second.

He spots me and seeing that I am in fact walking towards him, he comes towards me also, meeting me halfway. His face takes on a curious look when he sees how angry I am.

"What's wrong? What is it?" He asks, looking around for threats or clues as to what was going on in my mind.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Gee, I don't know, Fang! Maybe the fact that you haven't talked, I mean really talked, to your own girlfriend in a week and yet you still think it's okay to hang out with _her_!"

He stares at me in disbelief. "I haven't talked to you because you won't let me!" He retorts, angry.

"Well maybe I would talk to you if you would stop flirting with other girls!" I yell. His eyes flash.

"I knew it! I knew this was about Lissa!" He softens. "Max, we're just friends, I swear. She doesn't know anyone here. She just wants a friend."

"Oh a friend! Is that what she wants? Last time I checked, people that were "just friends" didn't stick their tongues down each other's throat! I don't know maybe I'm wrong," I say, venomously. God was he blind? Lissa was all over him. It was so obvious that she wanted him.

"That was a long time ago, Max. That was before I realized my feelings for you…. Why can't you believe me when I tell you that you're the only one for me?" He asks, his tone taking on a bit of a pleading sound.

"Why can't you believe me when I tell you that she wants you?! She doesn't just want to be your friend!"

"Yes she does!" Fang explodes. "Why can't you trust me?!"

I sigh. "I don't want you hanging out with her anymore."

"You can't tell me what to do," He grounds out and I take a step back. He's really angry.

"No, but I can break up with you…. And I will if you don't stop parading around with your ex-girlfriend."

Wait what? Why did I say that? I didn't mean that. I love him. I'd never leave him. Take it back. Take it back. Take it back.

His jaw drops in astonishment. I feel tears clouding over my vision, and I quickly turn around and stalk away.

I burst into the bathroom stall and throw up everything in my stomach. Why is this happening?


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, here's the new chapter! I'm not even going to say anything about this one. You'll just have to read to find out. It's a little bit short, so I'm sorry for that. PLEASE REVIEW and stop being big meanies ;)… But on a serious note…Please review. I guarantee it will make my day just a little bit brighter. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**KarleeRay**

The rest of my day is complete and utter HELL. I ignore anyone dumb enough to try and talk to me, and the only time I show any emotion is in combat class when I literally attack my punching bag for forty five minutes straight. It feels amazing, letting my body take over and doing what feels natural. I threw severe punches and used complex moves that I haven't used in forever. I left the class, feeling slightly better about the whole Fang and Lissa thing.

The tension in the car ride home suffocates me. I am completely aware of exactly where Fang is sitting, exactly what position he is in. Every time he so much as shifts, I see it.

When I walk in the door I head straight to my room and put on a t-shirt, some Nike shorts, and some tennis shoes. Maybe a long run will give me some clarity.

"Iggy!"I yell, emerging from my room. "I'm taking your iPod!" I'm not sure if he hears me or not and honestly, I don't care.

"Where are you going?" Mom asks, curiously as I march through the kitchen.

"For a run. I'll be back later."

"Be careful," She calls, as I walk out the front door.

My feet pound the pavement, my long legs opening to their full stride. I turn my music up as loud as it will go, playing Iggy's playlist of heavy metal. I relish the feeling of my lungs beginning to burn, of sweat beginning to bead on my forehead. Determination swells in me and I feel free, free of all my problems. Without a second thought, I unfurl my wings and let them carry me as high as this underground city would allow. It wasn't the same as flying in the sky up above ground, but it was good enough. Pure elation runs through my body. I notice that some people are starting to look up and gawk, but other people just send me a polite smile and go back to their business, like a flying bird kid is nothing out of the norm. I grin. No one can touch this. No one.

About an hour later, I touch down right in front of our home. I'm dripping sweat, and as gross as it sounds, it feels amazing, like coming home. I had forgotten what it was like to feel complete exertion. My body is tired, my muscles are groaning, but I'm smiling.

I know that I need to fix things with Fang if I don't want to lose him. I need to make sure that he knows that I love him too much to ever leave him over something so stupid. And really, that's what it was. Stupid. If Fang says there's nothing going on, then I believe him. I've always trusted Fang. I would trust him with anything, even my life. So why stop now?

I head up to take a shower, contemplating what to say and then I stop myself. I don't want it to sound like I'm giving a speech. He needs to hear what comes straight from my heart.

The hot running water does nothing to soothe me, so I take my shower quickly and then get dressed in some pajama shorts and a t-shirt. Taking a deep breath, I exit my room. I walk slowly down the hall and stop in front of Fang's bedroom door. I consider knocking and then quickly change my mind. This is Fang. I don't have to knock.

I open the door to find him lying face down on his bed. He doesn't even look up at the sound of me entering his room. Sighing, I turn and shut the door. I make my way over to his bed and literally lie down on top of him.

It's quiet for a moment and then Fang speaks, his voice muffled by the pillow. "Is it safe to assume that you're here to swallow your pride and apologize?"

"Yeah," I murmur, kissing his bare shoulder.

He turns his face to the side, leaning it into the top of my head.

I sit up and he turns over to face me. "I'm sorry. For everything. For all I said."

He nods, but says nothing. Boy, he's making me work for this one.

"And you know I didn't mean that…. What I said about breaking up with you. I was just angry…I wanted to hurt you like you hurt me. I could never leave you, Fang," I say earnestly and for some annoying reason, tears begin to pool in my eyes. I lie back down on him, burying my head in his bare chest and praying that he doesn't push me away, disgusted by my actions.

He doesn't push me away. Instead he winds his arms around me, pulling me closer. This gives me confidence and I say, "I'm uncomfortable with the whole Lissa thing, but I do trust you." I pull away to look him in the eye. "And I'm not going to tell you what to do… You can be friends with her…"

"But?" He prompts, know that there is more that I want to say.

"But can you honestly swear to me that you have no feelings left for her? If you can swear it, I promise I'll believe you and let the whole thing go."

"Maximum Ride," He says softly with a half-smile, making my heart stutter. I love it when he says my full name. "I solemnly swear to you, that the only person on this entire messed up world that I have those feelings for, is you. I love you, Max. I swear I do. I don't know what I would be without you." My heart completely melts at that and I smile shyly at him, leaning my forehead against his.

He leans up to kiss me, but I pull away, teasing him.

"Hey," he says accusingly and I grin at him before lowering my forehead to his again. His lips part and he tilts his head to kiss me and again I pull away at the last second, laughing.

"Max," Fang whines softly.

I sit up and tap my lips with my index finger. Then, I taunt him with that same finger. 'Come and get me.'

Fang lunges at me so quickly I hardly even see it. He looms over me, pinning me down with his strong arms, and then brings his lips down on mine with more hunger than I even thought possible. My hands find their way to his hair, tangling themselves in his fine locks. Fine locks? Oh Lord, please forget I said that.

My breath hitches in my throat as his hands push up my t-shirt, but I make no move to stop him. He trails kisses across my stomach, making me gasp. No fair.

I quickly flip him, so that I am over top of him. He smirks at me as if to say 'do what you want'. So I find myself also trailing kisses across his rocks hard abs. He flinches underneath me, trying to maintain control and I laugh. This is as close to Heaven as I am ever going to get.


	15. Chapter 15

Here's the new chapter! You guys wanted Eggy, so here it goes. Note that this chapter is NOT in Max's POV! I hope you enjoy it… I really wasn't sure about doing an Eggy chapter just because I happen to love Iggy's character, but I also feel like he has a very strong personality and I didn't want to mess that up. So I tried my best to keep him in character… Review and let me know how I did! I really hope I didn't lose his personality. REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW.

KarleeRay

"Iggy, I'm serious!" Ella insists, trying to wipe the smile off of her face that only Iggy could bring around. "She's been acting strange this past week. She won't tell me what's wrong. She doesn't talk to me like she talks to Carter," She pouts.

"Max loves you Ells, but she's always been a guarded person. You'd understand if you were like us. I don't know what else to tell you," Iggy says simply.

Ella knew it was ridiculous to feel angry when Iggy brought up the fact that she wasn't one of the flock, but she couldn't help it. Jealousy was an ugly thing and Ella definitely felt it when she thought about how Iggy shared a bond with five other people that she would never be able to share with him. She sighs, watching as Iggy expertly mixes the cake batter. He never ceased to amaze her.

After a few moments, Iggy turns off the mixer. "Taste this," He orders.

Ella goes to dip her finger into the batter, when Iggy stops her. "Wait! Your hands are probably filthy!" He snatches her hand and throws it back to her. Ella can't help but laugh. He was so protective over his food.

"I washed them just a little while ago," Ella corrects him but makes no move to stick her finger in the batter.

"Here," Iggy murmurs, sticking his own finger into the batter and holding it out to her. In all reality, Iggy's hands were probably dirtier than hers, but she would never say so. He would just have a fit.

Laughing, she licks the batter from his finger. She says nothing, knowing it would irritate him.

"Well?" He prompts.

"Oh it's good!" Ella assures him. "Really good."

"Well why didn't you say so sooner?" He demands. "I thought you didn't like it. I am blind, you know. I can't exactly see your reaction."

Ella giggles, infatuated with his every move. She hung on his every word.

"I just can't win with you, can I?" She reaches out and ruffles up his strawberry blonde hair, making it stand up at all angles.

Iggy grins, and Ella could swear that the entire room grew a shade lighter.

"Ella… you're winning just by being in my presence," He says seriously, and Ella huffs, exasperated.

She jumps off the counter where she had been perched, watching Iggy do his magic in the kitchen. "You my dear," She murmurs, going on tiptoes to land a soft kiss on his lips. "Are impossible."

Ella walks over to the fridge, taking out the Diet Coke, and pouring a big glass.

"That will give you cancer," Max announces, entering the kitchen with an uncharacteristically happy Fang in tow.

"Maybe," Ella agrees, taking a big gulp of her drink.

Iggy stiffens. "That's not true is it?"

Ella starts to say no, but Max interrupts her. "Scientifically proven."

"Well yeah, but not everyone gets cancer from Diet Coke, only some people," Ella insists. She frowns at Max, staring at her disheveled hair and rumpled up clothes and decides that she really does not want to know where Max and Fang have just come from…. But wherever it was, Ella was glad because Max looked genuinely happy for the first time in weeks. (A/N: No, Fang and Max did not do the dirty! They only had a heavy makeout session ;)

"What kind of cake is this?" Max asks, dipping her finger into the batter so quietly that Iggy does not even notice.

"Mmmm. Nevermind," she murmurs, sucking on her fingers.

"You stuck your fingers in there, didn't you?" Iggy demands, turning on her. Fang laughs, which is not something you hear every day and I realize that this must have been a regular occurrence among the flock.

Max snickers and Iggy reaches out to grab her hair. He yanks it hard. "Ow!" Max yelps, shoving him off of her. "Sorry. I couldn't resist!" She calls over her shoulder, leaving the kitchen.

"She always does that," Iggy complains to Fang, who chuckles again, before following after Max.

Ella laughs, boosting herself back up onto the counter. She reaches out, pulling Iggy to her. Iggy doesn't resist and he takes her by surprise when he cups her face and brings his lips down to hers. The kiss is long and sweet and innocent and it makes Ella's whole body buzz with joy. Before she can stop herself, her lips begin to move on their own accord. "I love you, Iggy," she blurts and then quickly covers her mouth with her hands. Did she really just say that? Did she mean it?

She risks a glance at Iggy, who is standing there, open mouthed.

"Uhh… I'm gonna go…. See what Nudge is up to," She stutters, making a run for the kitchen doorway. She only makes it about two steps before Iggy grasps her wrists and pulls her back to him.

"Iggy, I don't know wh-" she starts, but he smacks a hand over her mouth to shut her up.

"I love you too, Ella," He murmurs, smiling widely, and removes his hand so he can kiss her shocked lips.


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter sucks. So sorry. I had a loss of inspiration, so this chapter is pretty pointless and random, but read on anyway and review your thoughts… Yes. Review. Review. Review. Each and every review gives me motivation! Keep them coming! Please!**

**KarleeRay**

Watching Fang become better and better friends with Lissa is not easy, let me just tell you, but I'm staying true to my word. Fang can be friends with whoever he pleases. I've learned to ignore it, and I've been successful for the most part. I've even said a few words to her. I know, I am a freaking saint.

"So this one or this one?" Carter asks, holding up two different shirts to her slender torso.

"You're asking _me_ for fashion advice?" I say, incredulous. "They're both nice…. I don't know. Ask Nudge."

She groans. "It's not that hard to tell me which shirt looks better on me." I sit up and stare at her.

"Fine. The blue one."

She smiles. "Yeah, I like that one too."

"I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this… You and Austin have been dating for like two months. This date is just like any other," I inform her, lying back on my bed and staring at the ceiling.

"It is not, Max. This is our first double-date with you and Fang. Stop ruining my fun."

I watch her as she surveys herself in the mirror. Her jet black hair hangs completely straight down her back, standing out against her royal blue blouse and creamy white skin. She takes out a bottle of lip gloss and coats her pouty lips in that horrible stuff. Ugh. I hate lip gloss. It's all sticky and nasty and your hair gets stuck in it when the wind blows. It's just annoying.

Carter spies me watching her and she turns around to face me. "Come here and let me straighten your hair."

I groan. "We don't have time."

"We have forty five minutes. Now come here. Don't you want to look nice for Fang?"

"Not really," I grumble, but obey her anyways, sitting indian style on the floor in front of the full length mirror. Carter moves to stand behind me and begins to straighten my hair.

About 15 minutes later, Carter stands back and admires her work. "It looks beautiful. You should wear it like that more often."

"Eh, I would if I cared enough about what I look like," I tell her, nonchalantly, getting up and walking to my closet.

I'm rummaging in my closet for a t-shirt when Carter comes up behind me.

"I already picked out your outfit." Upon seeing my distraught expression, she continues. "It's not that bad, I promise." She walks over to my dresser and picks up the folded clothes resting on top. "Here."

The outfit consists of black skinny jeans, a dark blue spaghetti strap shirt and a leather jacket. She was right. It's not that bad… kind of sexy actually, though if you tell anyone I said that I will hunt you down.

I quickly put on the clothes and Carter hands me my black lace up combat boots to complete the outfit. I survey myself in the mirror, satisfied with what I see.

"Whatever," I say, trying to sound like I could care less. "Let's go. They're probably waiting for us downstairs."

When Fang first catches sight of me, his eyes widen just slightly. No one else would have been able to see it, but I know him, and I know this means he's impressed. I get a sick satisfaction out of that.

Austin is 17 and has his license, so he drove us to the movies. We watched some action movie, well attempted to watch, but uhh let's just say my thoughts (and hands) were elsewhere.

"Well the movie was…. Good," I try, as we drive to the restaurant. Fang snickers and I resist the urge to punch him in the face.

"Seriously… Can anyone in this car tell me what happened in that movie?" Carter asks, setting off a round of laughs from everyone.

"I know I can't," Austin mutters and Fang laughs even harder.

When we arrive at the restaurant, Carter and I head to bathroom, leaving the boys to snag us a table. We're both surveying ourselves in the mirror when I catch her giving me a look.

"What?" I ask, confused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She shrugs, smirking at me. "You and Fang were all over each other in that movie."

"So? So were you and Austin!"

She shrugs again. "You guys have been together for a lot longer…."

"So?..."I prompt, not sure where she's going with this.

"So I'm trying to ask if you two have done it yet!" Carter giggles, giving up on trying to talk in come kind of girl code that I obviously don't know.

My face threatens to heat up, but I quickly remind myself that this is my best girlfriend and there's no need to be embarrassed. "No… we haven't."

"Can I ask why?"

I shrug. "I don't know. It's not something I've really thought about."

Carter looks disappointed and then her face lights back up. "Promise to tell me when you do?"

I stare at her blankly as I pull open the bathroom door. "Yeah. Sure Carter."

Back at the table, Carter and Austin order a human size amount of food and Fang and I order a bird kid size amount of food. They both watch Fang and I with amusement as we dig into our meals and polish off everything we ordered.

The rest of the date goes by pretty uneventfully. We sat around for about an hour after we finished our food and just talked, like normal teenagers. It was nice. Then, Austin dropped Fang and I off at our house and that is how I find myself, lying in Fang's bed watching TV with him.

"You like Carter, right?" I ask him, really hoping that he found her as great as I did.

"Yeah," He admits. "She's a cool girl."

"You like Trent too right?"

He shrugs. "He's alright."

I smile, glad that he is accepting of my two best school friends.

"Now, I like your friends… why can't you attempt to like mine?" Fang asks, carefully, searching my face for my reaction.

I consider my answer carefully. "It's not that I hate Lissa… it's just that I don't trust her."

"I really don't think she wants to be anything other than friends," He insists, but I shake my head vigorously.

"I thought we agreed to disagree?"

"Well, we did but uhh… I was wondering if it would piss you off if she came here after school tomorrow." My jaw drops in disbelief. "Just to study! I swear! She needs help with her math," he says quickly.

"Why would she want _your_ help with her math?" I demand, trying not to get angry. "She's been in school her whole life and you just started. She should be teaching you, not the other way around."

"Fine… I'll just tell her no," Fang mumbles, giving up. He sighs, seeming deflated and suddenly I felt like I was controlling him. No! Bad Max. You swore to let him do what he pleases. God, I hate him for this.

"If she so much as lays a hand on you, I swear to God, Fang I'll-"

He sits up, shocked. "Is that a yes?"

I nod reluctantly and he tucks me into a tight hug. "You are the best," He says, pulling back and kissing me hungrily on the lips. I reciprocate quicker than we both expected, slipping my tongue into his mouth, making him moan softly in surprise. I wanted him to remember this kiss when he was helping Lissa with her math tomorrow.

I pull back after a few moments, both of us breathing heavily. He tilts his head, bending in to kiss me again, but I pull back.

"Haven't I given you enough favors for one night? First Lissa, now this?" I tease. He opens his mouth to protest, but I stop him with a finger to his lips. "Ah, ah, ah… you shouldn't be so greedy, Fang."

I smirk at him, sliding off the bed, and then turning and sauntering out of the room.


	17. Chapter 17

**The new chapter is finally up! Sorry about the three day delay. I didn't update for the same reason I am assuming it took you guys so long to read and review! Oh the joys of being a high school student! I tried to update as much as possible last weekend because I knew this week would be hectic. Anyway, I have had a one track mind these past few days, and sadly, my story was not my main focus. I have a huge basketball tournament starting tomorrow, so my team has been practicing nonstop. (Wish me luck! I really want to win this one!) Anywho… I have to admit I am a little disappointed by the lack of reviews. My account tracks how many views I have on this story and the number is huge. However, there are only 19 reviews. That makes me sad :( … how am I supposed to know if I am writing a story that people are enjoying if no one reviews? Also, I would like to give a thank you to the people who actually have reviewed. You make my writing worthwhile. Okay! I am officially done rambling! On with the story…. Enjoy and review!**

**KarleeRay**

Walking into your own house after a long, grueling basketball practice and seeing your boyfriend and his ex sitting at your kitchen table doing homework, is enough to put your average human over the edge. However, I am far above average and I held my tongue as I walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of water.

"Hi Max!" Lissa chirps and I raise my eyebrows at her in acknowledgement. Fang gives me a careful half smile that I completely ignore, as I walk into the living room and plop down on the couch next to Iggy. From where I sit on the couch I have a perfect view of them, but I adjust my position slightly so it won't be so obvious that I have a freaking eagle eye trained on them. I dare Lissa to try something.

Iggy crinkles his nose, mockingly leaning away from me. "Long practice or something? You reek." He laughs and I quickly launch myself at him, wrapping him in an inescapable bear hug.

"How's that?" I ask, laughing as he pushes against me. By now, I can feel Fang and Lissa's gazes on us, but I don't really care about them at the moment.

Iggy stops fighting me and just as I begin to remove my arms from around him, he gives me a hard shove. I don't even have time to catch myself before falling off the couch and onto the hardwood floor. Instantly, I right myself.

"You are so dead," I growl, doing my absolute best not to let him hear the laugh in my voice. Iggy puts his hands up in surrender, grinning, but it does him no good. We're not even. He can't just push me and expect me not to retaliate.

With a playful roar, I tackle him to the ground, pinning his arms on either side of his head. Now, it may shock you to know this but, Iggy is majorly ticklish. I'm talking like this kid will get buck wild if you tickle him in the right places. Yes, Iggy, sarcastic, grumpy Iggy, is ticklish. I know. I was shocked too. Fortunately for me, I was the one to discover Iggy's weakness a couple years ago when we were locked in a wrestling match.

Without hesitation, I dig my fingers into his sides. Instantly, Iggy lets out a roar of uncontrollable laughter, bucking against me, trying to throw me off of him. I cackle, evilly.

"Please!" Iggy manages. "Stop! Max! Please!"

I make him suffer for just a tad longer, and then hop off of him. He stands angrily. "That was not a fair fight. You know I hate it when you do that!"

"I hate it when you push me," I retort, simply, trotting past him and to the stairs. Apparently, I need a shower because I "reek".

The steaming hot water does its job, relaxing my tense muscles. I sigh contentedly, stepping out of the shower and wrapping myself in a towel.

As I'm pulling on my t-shirt and shorts, it hits me that I left Fang and Lissa unattended. Crap. I was supposed to be watching them….so much for my "eagle eye".

I think about charging on down there, when an even smarter idea comes to me. I know. I know what you're all thinking. Spying is wrong. Whatever. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Fortunately, I am trained in the art of moving silently, so I have no problem getting down the stairs without letting them hear me. Once I am downstairs, though, things begin to get a bit trickier. How far can I go? Can I chance getting caught? If I do get caught…. Well, let's just not even go there. Besides, I don't plan to listen for long….

Finally, I settle on a place, standing against the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. My raptor hearing can easily make out what they're saying.

"So… number 4 would be 668," I hear Fang murmur.

"Yeah… sure," Lissa replies, sounding like she could care less about the answers to her math. There's a moment of silence, and I hold my breath, not wanting Fang's sharp hearing to detect my presence.

"Can I ask you something?" Lissa says, breaking the silence and allowing me to breathe again.

"Yep."

"Do you ever think about that day? Back in Virginia… when you kissed me?" Lissa's asks, timidly, like she's not sure if this is a good idea. My jaw drops, and I literally have to stop myself from charging in there…. However, I want to hear Fang's answer. I know. I know. I said I trusted him and I do... but there's nothing wrong with gathering a bit of reassurance.

"Well…. Technically _you _kissed _me_…" Fang murmurs, sounding uncomfortable.

"Like it matters…. You didn't answer my question."

"I don't know, Lissa. It was a long time ago… besides, I'm with Max now," Fang says firmly, letting out a long breath. _Dang right, you're with Max now._

"Well yeah but….didn't you feel something there? Something special? … Nevermind that. I know you did. It couldn't have been just me." There's a smile in Lissa's voice and I get a sick, awful feeling in my gut. Trusting my instincts and not really caring about getting caught at this point, I peek my head around the corner of the doorway just in time to see Lissa's red head swooping in towards Fang's. Their lips meet for one awful heart wrenching second, and then Fang quickly pushes her away, looking shocked.

I take this as a good time to make my grand entrance. Eyebrows raised, arms crossed firmly over my chest to keep from strangling Lissa, I saunter into the kitchen. Fang catches sight of me, and I see in his eyes that he knows I have witnessed what just happened.

"Max," He says, in a warning voice. He comes towards me, arms raised in surrender as if I'm a wild animal that needs to be contained before it can attack. I wave him off. Strangely, I am scarily calm. I will not explode. I'm angry, yes, but I finally have my proof. I was right all along. Lissa wanted to be more than just friends with my boyfriend.

A tense silence hangs over us all, both of them waiting to see what I will do.

Finally, I latch my eyes onto Lissa's, fixing her with the iciest glare that I can manage. "I think you should leave. Now." My voice is calm, yes, eerily so, but there's a dangerous tone to it also. Lissa gulps visibly, obviously surprised that I haven't torn her freaking head off. She begins to look embarrassed and shameful, but she quickly wipes those expressions off of her face, replacing them with an expression full of arrogance.

"When you change your mind, you know where to find me," she says as she sashays past Fang. I am not surprised in the least by her up-front manner, but Fang seems to be. My eyes cut sharply at her and she continues out of the kitchen. Moments later, I hear the front door slam shut.

I give Fang a solid once over, careful not to let my face give anything away, and then turn and walk out of the room.

* * *

I am sitting on the couch in the living room watching Criminal Minds all by myself when Fang works up the courage to come and talk to me. As he enters the room, I am careful to keep my eyes trained on the TV.

He carefully lies down on the open end of the couch, placing his head into my lap. "Are you mad at me?" He asks, softly.

I sigh. "No."

"Max, I swear, I had no idea. I swear, if I had known, I would-"

"I know," I murmur, smiling slightly. "Why do you think I'm not mad at you?"

He smiles, relaxing, and picks up my hand, placing kisses on each of my fingertips.

"Plus…. You got brownie points for pushing her away so quickly," I admit.

Fang laughs, and the sound is like music to my ears. He sobers up quickly, though, and then looks me dead in the eye. "I love you, Max."

My eyes shift back to the TV and stick there. "You aren't hanging out with her anymore," I state, simply.

He nods. "I know."

It's quiet for just a moment, and then I say. "I love you too, Fang."

He leans up, kissing me softly, and I spring up off of the couch, making his head fall back against the cushions. He looks at me in surprise.

"Yuck!" I exclaim, making a big show of wiping my lips and tongue off. "You have Lissa on your lips!" I am about 75% joking and 25% serious.

Fang rolls his eyes, standing up. "Fine. I'll go brush my teeth. Will that make you happy?"

Amusement sparks in his eyes when I nod my head vigorously. I follow him up the stairs, perching myself on the bathroom counter as he brushes away, and the second he rinses his mouth out, I am on him, kissing him fiercely. Our kisses are hungry, like we will never be able to get enough. Fang picks me up, setting me back down on the bathroom counter and coming to stand between my legs. I run a line of kisses from his lips, down his jaw, and to his neck, making him tremble in pleasure, and I can't help but smile against his lips. _How about them apples, Lissa?_


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, once again, I am very sorry about the late update, but I'm trying here people! I've had quite the busy week (My team got first in that tournament I told you guys about on my last update! YAY!) Anyway, I did my best with this chapter but it is still not very good. I just really wanted to give yall _something_. Ummm what else? Oh yeah! REVIEW! Please… I'm still disappointed in the lack of reviews and I really need ideas on what direction to lead this story in…. PS: I have a question for yall. Would you like to see action come into this story or do you like the flock getting to live somewhat normal lives? Lemme know in your reviews! Now, on with the story…**

**KarleeRay**

"I knew it was her all along," Carter comments, referring to the Criminal Minds episode we had just watched. Carter, Ella, Iggy, Fang, Trent, Nudge and I were all gathered in the enormous living room for a "slumber party"…. Really it was just a movie night, but Nudge insisted on calling it a "slumber party".

Carter stands. "I'll take your orders as soon as you're ready," She jokes and everyone begins to call out what they want from the kitchen. She returns about ten minutes later, as Nudge and Iggy are arguing about what we are going to watch next.

"I think I should get to decide," Carter trills, passing around the food and drinks. "Since I was kind enough to bring you all food."

"I agree," I offer up, feeling Fang's arms tighten around my waist.

"You're only saying that because you know she'll pick Criminal Minds!" Nudge accuses.

I shrug, not really caring that she was on to me.

Suddenly, I feel a familiar tickle inside my head. My body tightens, every muscle bracing itself. Fang immediately notices and he grabs my chin and turns me to face him. His eyes roam over my face.

"What? What is it?"

I shake my head, praying fiercely. My breathing begins to become more labored. _No Max. That hasn't happened in ages. It's over. You're fine. _I feel Fang's eyes on my face, but I refuse to turn my head and let him see how freaked I am. A quick sharp pain comes into my head and I gasp against my will and grab my temple. It's gone as quickly as it came, but I am experiencing serious déjà vu and I'm almost certain about what is going to follow that sharp pain. I've only ever felt something like that a couple times…. When I had my brain explosions. _Oh God, no…. Please. Please. No, anything but that._

"Max?" Fang's voice is laced with concern. I feel his hand on my shoulder, feel him pulling me into his chest. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

I look up to see that no one but Fang has noticed that I am in serious panic mode. _Deep breaths, Max. You're fine. There's no pain._

Lifting my eyes to Fang's, I smile. "It's nothing. I'm fi-" And then it hits me like a ton bricks. The worst most unbelievable pain explodes inside my head. My whole body feels like it has been hit by an eighteen wheeler. I'm dying. I have to be. I clutch my head in my hands, biting down on my lip until I feel blood flow. A piercing scream fills my ears and from past experience, I know that it is me. My body writhes in agony, and I can't stop it, no matter what I try. Tears leak out of my eyes as I hear another scream, similar to the first. _Oh my God! Please! Just take me! Just make it stop!_

Agonizingly slowly, my body begins to stop writhing, settling down to twitches. I can begin to make out voices around me, but I don't dare open my eyes.

"Well what do you want me to do?!"

"Call !"

"What's happening? Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine," Fang snaps. I feel his fingertips trailing over my body. "Please, please, please," He whispers, so softly that I am not even sure I hear it. "Max? Max can you hear me? I need you to wake up, sweetie. Let me see those pretty eyes," He murmurs directly into my ear, so close that I can feel his breath on me.

I moan softly in response.

"Please," He begs, still speaking so softly into my ear that I am not sure even the others can hear him.

Taking a deep breath, I muster up all my courage and open my eyes. Fang sighs in relief and leans down to plant a kiss on my sweaty forehead.

I look around to see Nudge crying, looking confused and horrified. "Why is this happening to you again, Max?" She sobs throwing herself onto my stomach and wrapping her arms around me. That's the million dollar question, kiddo. Why was this happening to me again? It hadn't happened in years and I thought it all had to do with my voice, or um Angel, making her way into my head. We thought we had it all figured out. The voice had to have caused the brain explosions….. we were wrong. Now what?

I shiver at the thought of more brain explosions coming around before we figure out the cause of them. Maybe I really am dying.

"Max… I don't understand…" I gaze up from Nudge's sobbing form to see Carter standing close to Trent with tears in her eyes. My mouth opens in an attempt to help her understand, to console her, but I don't know what to say, where to start, how to explain these awful attacks when I can't even comprehend them myself. My body is exhausted and forming a complete explanation doesn't seem to be something I am capable of right now. Fang, knowing me better than anyone, realizes this and stands from the couch.

"Maybe now isn't the best time for you guys to be here," He says, and I know that he knows how rude he sounds, but I know at the moment his only concern is for me.

Trent and Carter look taken aback for a moment and then slowly nod. "I'll drive you home," Trent tells Carter, as he gathers up his things from around the living room. He hesitates, looking down at me.

"I'm sorry," I say, helplessly.

"Never be sorry," He murmurs and I am shocked when he leans down and presses his lips to my forehead. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Fang tense. "Feel better, Max."

Carter tells me goodbye next, flinging her arms around me and whispering comforting words into my ear. There are a million questions in her eyes, but she keeps her mouth shut.

I give both of them weak smiles as they walk out the front door, and then shut my eyes, exhausted. Fang and Nudge's gazes are trained on me, I can feel them. I open my eyes as Iggy sits down on the couch next to me, looking upset and angry.

"I'm fine," I say, pathetically, not fooling anyone.

"Shut up," Fang snaps, furious, but I take no offense. He doesn't mean it. He's angry at the situation, not me. "You should have told me you weren't feeling well!"

"Dude chill out," Iggy coaxes and I take his hand, seeing his distraught expression.

Fang sighs, seeming to just now realize who he was lashing out at. He falls to his knees on the ground beside the coach and looks at me with pleading eyes.

"I know," I say, saving him from having to apologize. "It's okay." I lean forward and place my lips to his forehead, letting them linger for a few seconds longer than normal. He seems to take comfort in my kiss and I feel him relax just slightly.

"Carter isn't the only one who doesn't understand," Ella mutters, bitterly, wiping tears from her cheeks. "Max, what was that?"

I look to Fang for help, but it's Iggy who comes to my rescue. "Now's not the best time," He explains gently, standing up and taking her hand. "When Max feels better I'm sure she'll tell you all about it."

I nod and smile shakily. Fang takes Iggy's spot on the couch beside me and I lie down, putting my head in his lap. He strokes my sweaty hair away from my forehead. I know he's freaking out inside, but on the outside he wears his normal stoic mask.

"I feel better already. Honest." I tell them all, actually meaning it. I did feel better, slightly nauseous and completely exhausted but better, bearable.

The air in the room feels a bit lighter, everyone beginning to breathe again. "Now…. Let's finish our movie night. Get our minds off of things."

Everyone agrees and slowly my brain explosion is forgotten... by everyone except me and most likely Fang. I am practically quaking, afraid that if I close my eyes, the brain explosion will come back. I'm so confused. Why are these things back? It makes no sense.

Nudge finally wins the argument and _Gone With The Wind_ begins to play on the flat screen. Despite my fears, Fang's hand stroking my hair quickly lolls me to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**The new chapter is up! And guess what? It's actually on time and it is my longest chapter yet! However, I have a basketball game tomorrow and another huge tournament starting on Thursday, so I'll be really busy and distracted, but I promise I'll do my absolute best to update if you promise to review? If I get at least five reviews for this chapter, I'll update within the next 2 days no matter what! Even if I have to stay up until midnight finishing my chapter! I love you all! Enjoy and review!**

**KarleeRay**

I woke up in my bed to a crazy momma bear, a distraught sister, and five tired and worried flock members.

"Max!" My mom rushes me as soon as my eyes flicker open. I sit up confused, and stare around at the small gathering in my room. "How do you feel? Any pain?"

I wave her off, wiping my eyes and doing my best to wake up. _Pain? Why would I be in pain?_

"What do you mean pain? And why are you all in my room?" I snap. I had never been a morning person, and I felt doubly annoyed at everyone's eyes on me.

Mom leans forward and brushes my hair back. "Lie back down, Max. You need to rest."

"What are you going on about?" I ask her, looking around to the flock for help.

"They told Ella and I all about your brain explosions," She murmurs. "But don't worry, baby, we're gonna get this all figured out."

"That's what this is about?" I inquire, incredulously. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm fine." I push her out of the way and stand up. She watches me closely, and when I don't die where I stand, she relaxes slightly. "See? I'm fine."

I leave them all in my bedroom, heading to the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth.

About 30 minutes later, I join them all at breakfast, skillfully ignoring the way my mother was watching me.

"Does anyone have plans today?" I ask them, smearing jelly on my toast.

"I'm going to the mall with Allie," Nudge offers around a mouthful of biscuit. I wrinkle my nose dramatically in disgust, and she shoots me a teasing grin.

"I'm going to Raina's," Angel tells me. Her blue eyes flicker up to mine and it once again strikes me how adorable she is.

I look around the table, grinning, and then it hits me. Five of the flock are sitting at the table. Where is the sixth one? Where is Dylan?

"Where's Dylan?" I ask, confused by his absence. Where else would he be? It is then that I remember that he was supposed to join us for our movie night last night. "Did he show up last night? After I went to sleep?"

Everyone's eyes pivot to Dylan's empty chair at the table.

"No…." Nudge says, slowly. "He never showed up. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in like two days. I just thought he was brooding in his room like your average teenager. Maybe he is in his room. I don't know. Zomg. I feel kind of guilty. How come no one noticed he wasn't here? That's kind of sad. I actually care about Dylan. I can't believe I didn't notice. I-"

"I'm gonna go check his room," I mutter feeling subdued. Déjà vu is running through me and I have to remind myself not to panic. There has to be a logical explanation for this. Times are different now, Max, there are no white coats. No one is out to get you or your flock. Dylan is fine.

I fling open his bedroom door, praying that he's in there. He isn't. I rush back down the stairs where everyone is waiting for me.

"He isn't in there," I tell them, sounding confused.

My mom jumps up. "Well where could he be?"

I pull out my cell phone and dial his number, my heart beginning to pound. _Please answer. Please answer. Please answer._

He doesn't. Feeling furious, I dial his number again. He better have a good reason for scaring me like this.

"Hello?" I sigh in relief as he answers on the fourth ring.

"Yo… Where the heck are you?" I demand.

There's a long pause and I wait impatiently. "I can't stay in a house where I'm not wanted, not anymore Max."

"What? What are you talking about? Dylan, just come home and we'll talk about this," I reply, exasperated and really not in the mood to baby someone.

"That's not home for me anymore. I'm gonna stay with some friends from school."

"Why?" I exclaim, starting to get angry. "You're being ridiculous…. And did it not cross your mind to tell your own family where you were? You really scared us!"

Another long, annoying pause. "Just because we have wings, doesn't make us family, Max. You guys proved that to me."

I begin to protest, but I am cut off when I hear the dial tone. He hung up on me. Quickly, I relay everything Dylan had said to the others.

"But that's not true!" Nudge cries, upset about the situation.

"I know, sweetie, but we can't force him to stay here," I reason.

"Can't you talk to him, Max?" Gazzy asks, still scarfing down his breakfast.

I hesitate. "I don't know guys. He seemed like he really didn't want to stay here…. But I'll try…."

The flock nods, solemnly, still seeming confused about the whole thing.

* * *

Three hours later finds me walking with my mom through the grocery store. I am consumed with my own thoughts, thoughts of Dylan, thoughts of basketball, and thoughts of Fang… always thoughts of Fang. A smile works its way onto my lips.

"What's got you smiling like that?" Mom asks, pushing the buggy alongside me. I shrug, nonchalantly and her smile grows. "Like I had to ask."

I groan, throwing my head back. "You act like I'm so predictable."

She considers my words, carefully. "The last thing you are is predictable, Maximum Ride. That thought is laughable, but it is obvious to me how much you care for Fang."

I nod. "I love him, Mom. Honest."

Her brown eyes meet mine and she smiles slightly. "I know… And I know you two have been together for a while now… you're teenagers and well, teenagers tend to get certain… urges."

I groan, loudly, making people turn to look at me, but I could care less. "No mom, please! I already know all of this stuff!"

She laughs at the look on my face. "Relax, Max. I wasn't going to go into detail…. However, I was going to make you promise me something."

"What?"

"If I buy you birth control and condoms, do you promise to use them when the time is right?"

I almost choke, but somehow manage to keep my composure. "Sure."

My mom beams at me and I can't help but smile back.

* * *

"You…. Are… amazing," Fang grounds out between passion heated kisses. His hands trail the length of my back and snake their way up my shirt which is completely uncharted territory. He pauses as if to ask me if this is okay, but I only press my lips back to his in response. He flips us so that I'm under him and pulls my shirt over my head. I feel incredibly exposed for about .00006 seconds and then I smirk in satisfaction as Fang's eyes light up and a goofy smile spreads over his lips. I pull him down on top of me, pressing us closer. My fingers trace the contours of his bare abs (Fang has taken a liking to coming into my room shirtless and unfairly seducing me so his shirt was already off). My hands tug on his belt loops and he groans in response, trailing kisses over my collar bone. I can practically feel him trying to control his urges and I can't help but laugh. He ignores me completely, and I am caught off guard when he hits that sweet spot on my shoulder that never fails to make me gasp in pleasure. I feel him smirk into my skin.

"Fang!" Gazzy yells, beating on the door. "I need help! I can't get past level three!"

"Go away, Gazzy," He mutters, into my stomach, and I swat his arm.

"He'll be right out, Gaz!" I call, pushing Fang off of me and grabbing my shirt off of the ground. Fang sighs, sounding extremely irritated, but goes to meet Gazzy in the hallway anyways.

I am alone for about 3 seconds before Nudge pokes her head inside the door. Seeing that I am alone, she walks in and flops down on my bed.

"You're going to talk to Dylan right? Tell him to come home?"

Sighing, I sit down beside her and rub her back. "I'll do what I can, Nudge."

"I feel guilty. We really were kind of leaving him out of things," She admits, resting her chin in her hands.

"Don't feel guilty, Nudge. Dylan's a big boy. If he wanted to hang out with us more, he should have said something instead of running off without so much as a goodbye," I retort, starting to get angry and rant.

I pull out my cell phone and shoot him a quick text.

_** Need 2 talk 2 u. Like now. Where can you meet me?**_

Nudge flicks on the TV and curls into my chest, searching for comfort, and I feel a swell of pride that she still needs me. I am beginning to think Dylan is just going to ignore my text when my phone lets out a bleep.

_**Don't have much to say that I haven't already said but I'll meet u anyway. Umm the park? In ten minutes?**_

I reply quickly and then stand up off of the bed. "I'm going to meet him. I'll do my best to get him to come home."

Nudge nods, but makes no move to get up. Not feeling like walking all the way down stairs, I open my window and jump, letting my wings carry me to the park. I am there in less than ten minutes and I fly in circles until I see Dylan flying towards me, relishing every down stroke of my amazing wings.

He motions for me to land and I follow him down.

"Hey, Max," He says casually as we land by the picnic table.

"Hey Max? Don't _'Hey, Max' _me. What? Like everything's normal? Cut the crap, Dylan," I tell him, feeling angry and slightly betrayed for unknown reasons.

He sighs, running a hand through his blonde hair. "I didn't come here to argue with you, Max."

I take a deep breath. Dylan doesn't want to argue? Well guess what? Max didn't want to wake up to a missing bird kid, now did she?

"What makes you think it's okay to just leave out of nowhere? Without saying anything? And where do you get off telling me that we aren't family? If we aren't family then, God, I don't know what is!" My voice wavers slightly before I quickly harden it. I could not let Dylan figure out how much this little stunt got to me. It kind of…. Hurt, as much as I hate to admit it. When Fang left me, for the second time (cringe), Dylan was really the only one who made me feel better, who made me feel worthy again…. We had grown a bit close in that short amount of time (he kind of wrenched us apart again when we he almost killed the boy that I'm kind of in love with), but I didn't realize how much he still meant to me until he pulled this.

"You all obviously don't want me there. You leave me out of everything." I open my mouth to protest, but he cuts me off, gently. "I'm not saying you do it on purpose, but you do do it. You can't help it. You all share a bond with each other that I'll never be able to even comprehend. I didn't grow up in the lab crate next to you like Fang. I didn't endure countless amounts of eraser attacks with you. I didn't gag on your first attempt of cooking, or hold your hand while you searched for Angel in Antarctica. I wasn't there when Gazzy discovered his gift of mimicry, or when Iggy learned he could feel colors and see the color white. I wasn't there when Fang, Gazzy, and Iggy went their own way because of Ari, and I wasn't there when they came back either. I didn't rub your shoulders after your first brain explosion, and I didn't go to Anne's with you all either. I wasn't there to comfort any of you when you were on the run. You all had your moments, your breakdowns, but you leaned on each other and you got through it. I didn't experience that. God, I wish you all could love me as much as you love each other, but let's face it, you don't, you can't. It's time for me to go my own way. Get my own life, my own family. Yours is already complete, Max, and I'm not part of it."

I stand speechless, hands hanging uselessly by my sides. Dylan has rendered me speechless, which is extremely hard to do. I never even thought of it like that, but I could hear the truth behind what he was saying. True, Dylan meant a lot to me, but Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel would always mean more. It was selfish to keep Dylan tied to us. It was selfish not to at least let him go out on his own and try to find the place where he belongs, and if after a while of searching, he realizes that that place is with The Flock, then we will welcome him back with open arms.

Slowly, I nod. "Just promise me something? If you find that your home truly is with us… then you'll come back."

He grins, pulling me into a hug that I don't resist. "Of course, Max. I just need to try, to see who else is out there for me." He pulls back and winks at me.

I smile slightly. "See you at school?"

He nods, still grinning, and then turns and launches himself into the air, leaving me on the ground by myself, filled with mixed emotions.


	20. Chapter 20

**Here's the new chapter. It's a little boring. Yes there is a cliff hanger and yes, I understand that the part about basketball could be confusing to those of you who don't play the sport, so just bear with me on that part. It's not my greatest writing, but I wrote this very quickly in my spare time and I did the best I could. Umm what else? Oh yeah! Reviews… I asked for five reviews on my last chapter if you all wanted me to update within two days and I only got two reviews, so yes I realize this chapter is three days late. Sooorrrryyyy! Life keeps getting in the way! (I am in the middle of a huge basketball tournament! My team is doing well! Yay! More games tomorrow so wish me luck!) Anyway, on with the story. PLEASE REVIEW MY DEAR READERS! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! I don't mean to sound annoying by getting all up on yall about reviewing but your reviews really do make such a difference to me!**

**KarleeRay**

"Ball!" I yell. _I'm wide open, dang it, give me the ball! _Chrissa finally decides to look up the floor, but by that time, it's too late. I'm already covered. My eyes shoot to the score board. 98 to 98. One minute left. We have to score if we want to win this game.

Chrissa passes the ball off to Carter at the wing, who penetrates the lane, making the defense collapse on her and then kicks the ball back out to Jessie who is left wide open at the three point line. The moment the ball leaves her fingers, I know the shot is off. My defender slams into me, attempting to block me out, but I'm one step ahead and I quickly jab right, throwing her off, and sprint into the lane, looking for an offensive rebound. The ball hits the side of the rim, and I make a mad dash for it, jumping up as high as I can. My hands close around the ball and the defense jumps all over me, everyone eager to get the ball. I pivot out of the pressure and kick it out to Carter at the top of the key.

"Work the ball! Wait for a good shot!" Coach yells, from the sideline. We fan out, clearing the lane, and pass the ball around quickly, looking for an opening. The moment Carter gets the ball again, I see our chance and I know she does too. As always, we are perfectly in sync. I jab right, faking my girl out completely and then cut to the basket. Carter nails me with a perfect pass and I quickly lay it up. The crowd goes wild, but I completely ignore them, knowing we have to play some kick butt defense for the next 15 seconds.

The other team couldn't even get the ball passed half court. We are all over them, playing the tightest man to man defense possible, and we receive a standing ovation from the crowd as the buzzer goes off.

The moment our team breaks after huddle, Carter and I are showered with praise from people in the crowd. We are completely humble, thanking people with polite smiles, but on the inside, I am jumping for joy. God that felt so good!

"I cheered for you loud, Max," Angel tells me earnestly from where she is perched on the kitchen counter.

"I know, I heard you." I beam at her and drop a kiss on her forehead. In all honesty, I hadn't heard her at all, what with so many voices yelling at the same time and trying to keep my focus on the game. She smiles and goes back to her cereal.

"Even Fang was on the edge of his seat," Nudge giggles. "We were so nervous for you. We knew you would be really mad if you lost. But that's kind of like an oxymoron. You know? Max and losing? It just doesn't go."

I smirk. "Got that right, kiddo." I grab the bag of potato chips and head up the stairs to my room, exhausted.

I bump into Fang as he is emerging from the bathroom. He's dripping wet, a towel wrapped around his waist, and I have to yell at myself not to get completely distracted by the sight of him. He smirks as if he is seeing right through me. I stuff a handful of potato chips into my mouth and grin at him. "Hey Fang." He rolls his eyes, amused at my unladylike behavior.

Still smiling, I continue past him and into my room. I take off my shirt and my shorts on the way to my bed, leaving me in a Nike sports bra and my sliders. I should probably shower, but find that I am way too tired to care. The highlights of my game replay in my head. God, the adrenaline rush was just amazing. That feeling doesn't come around as often as it used to.

I lie back on my bed, still shoveling potato chips into my mouth. Out of habit, I check all the channels to see if Criminal Minds is on. It's not. Sad day. So I settle on Ridiculousness. Have you guys ever seen that show? It is friggin hilarious. I highly recommend it….. though if you're trying to go to sleep then I hereby _un_-recommend it because I have been trying to do just that for the past thirty minutes, and I am declaring it impossible. It's just too… well _ridiculous_ to go to sleep on.

As if to prove that this is true, I find myself sitting upright in bed, cackling deliriously, at 1:00 in the morning. Quickly, I rewind the TV and play back a clip that I have watched four times already. It just hasn't gotten old. This kid face plants into the ground so hard. As the clip plays, I find myself laughing so hard there are tears running from my eyes. I clutch my stomach, gasping for air. In all reality, the clip was probably a little funny, but my delirious state was making it down right hilarious.

And when a dark shaggy head peeks inside my room, I think that's funny too. "What are you doing?" Fang asks, staring at me in disbelief. "It's one in the morning." He walks towards me calmly, amusement sparking in his dark eyes. I reach up and catch his hand, pulling him onto the bed.

"You have to watch," I giggle. "It's so funny!"

I play the clip for him, and pout playfully when he doesn't laugh. "That's funny!" I say accusingly. He shrugs. "Fang," I whine, lying back against him. "You aren't being any fun!"

At this, he smiles, amused. "Max, I think you need to go to sleep." He pulls the covers up around me, but I don't feel too tired so I squirm out of them.

"Do you wanna watch this with me or not?"

"Max…." He says, very seriously. "You are acting cray cray." He keeps a straight face the whole time, but I have no idea how. That would take some pretty serious skill. Obviously, it was absolutely hilarious to hear "cray cray" come out of Fang's mouth. My body shakes with laughter, and after a few seconds, Fang breaks too and begins to chuckle, pulling me into a hug.

We sober up a few minutes later and Fang takes my remote, turning off my show and putting on some boring movie. I protest fiercely, but he won't listen to me. "Max, you need to rest. You're delirious, sweetie."

I stop fighting him, instead snuggling down under the covers and curling into his chest. "Atta girl," He murmurs, kissing my forehead.

I fight off sleep as best as I can for as long as I can, treasuring every moment in Fang's arms, but in the end I am no match for my exhausted body.

* * *

"It doesn't matter," I ground out, breathing hard. My fist strikes out, smashing into the poor punching bag in front of me.

"Max," Carter whines. "You have to go."

I stop pummeling the bag, stepping back and pushing sweaty hair out of my eyes. "Carter, dances really aren't my scene. I don't like make up, I don't like doing my hair and I definitely don't like wearing dresses. I'm not going."

Carter protests, but I quickly block her out and go back to slamming my lethal fists into my punching bag, which is way more fun than some dance could ever be. Picturing an eraser standing in front of me, I start to add in deadly kicks in between my hits. Adrenaline pumps into me. It's friggin awesome.

Once I'm done with my warm up, I begin to practice complex fighting maneuvers, jabbing left and right, swinging huge roundhouse kicks, completing perfect Jumping spinning rear- mediums, and inward and outward defences. I'm in a trance, letting my body take over and do what it does best.

"Max, that was the bell!" Carter chastises, moving in front of me with her hands on her hips. "Now if you're done making me feel like such a lame fighter, I'd like to go to class."

I grin, wiping sweat off of my forehead. "Okay, okay, let's go then." I retrieve my backpack from the bleachers and join Carter, Fang, Nudge, and Ella who are waiting for me at the door.

"Oh! Done showing off are we?" Ella inquires as we begin to walk down the hallway.

"Just blowing off some steam," I reply smoothly.

Nudge begins to ramble but I am instantly distracted when a sharp pain enters my head. I don't even have time to start to panic before I am enduring a full blown brain explosion. I feel myself crumple to the ground, and I sense rather than hear the panic going on around me. I bite down hard on my lip. _Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. _I feel a hand on my arm and instantly I lose my cool, an earsplitting scream leaving my lips. My body writhes wildly and I can feel someone, probably Fang, trying to stop my thrashing so I don't hurt myself more. The salty taste of tears appears on my tongue. _Why isn't it stopping? _My hands come up against my will and I find myself raking my fingernails over my face hard enough to draw blood. Someone snatches my hands away and another agonized scream emerges from my lips. _Oh God. Oh God. Oh God._

And then everything goes black.


	21. Chapter 21

**The new chapter is up and on time! Yay! I only got one review for my last chapter. Sad day. Some of you are not very nice…. Ha! I'm just kiddinngggg! I love you all no matter what but more reviews would be amazing! I most of you probably don't care and are sick of me going on about my basketball, but I just have to say that my team is headed to the championship tomorrow after an extremely hard game today! It was super intense and we even went into overtime. I ended up scoring the winning points and I am just so proud of my team. Anywho…. I am done rambling about myself! Lol… uhh yeah that's all. Read and REVIEW if you wanna find out what's wrong with Max!**

**KarleeRay**

_Beep. Beep. Beep. That noise. That awful noise. What was it? God, my head hurts. Correction…everything hurts. My body is aching. My limbs feel like they each weight their own separate ton. My eyes. They feel glued shut. What's wrong with me? What's going on? I feel as if I should panic, but I can't find the strength. I lie limply, and sink back into unawareness._

* * *

My eyes flutter open, struggling against the brightness of the lights.

"Max?" Fang's head snaps up from where he was resting it on the side of my bed. I try to answer but find that there's something going down my throat. I begin to splutter and gag. My hands come up to yank it out, but Fang stops them mid air. "Shhh. Max, sweetie, it's okay. They're gonna take it out." He strokes my hair lovingly, but it does nothing to soothe me. I gag uncontrollably and my hands come up again on reflex. Fang catches them again and looks up. "Nudge go get the doctor. Hurry."

She jumps up and flees the room, shouting for the doctor. _Oh yes. Please hurry. _The doctor comes running into the room a mere few seconds later.

"Max," He says, calmly. "You have a tube down your throat. I'm going to take it out and it's going to feel uncomfortable for a few moments, but you just hang in there sweetheart."

I nod, miserably, and the doctor slowly pulls the tube from my throat. The second it comes out, the nurse who came in with the doctor reaches for a tiny trash bin and holds it under my chin. She knows I am going to throw up before I do. My stomach lurches violently and I try to hold it down, but quickly give up, retching awfully into the trash can. Fang rubs my back comfortingly, and I cringe at the thought of him seeing me like this.

Finally, I lie back on the bed, breathing heavily. I survey the room for the first time. My entire family is here. I smile weakly at them, feeling like death. My mom comes towards me, brushing sweaty hair back off of my forehead.

"Max," She murmurs, as if my name is a lifeboat that she is clinging too.

"I'm fine," I croak, having no idea if I really was. My brow furrows in confusion. I'm in a hospital, that much I've gathered, but why? I clear my throat. "What happened?" I am pleased to hear that my voice comes out sounding stronger than before.

"We don't know, sweetie, we don't know," Mom murmurs.

"That's helpful," I snap sarcastically before I can remind myself that this is my mom I'm talking to.

My mom, however, doesn't look surprised at all. Fang steps forward. "You had one of your brain explosions at the school… it lasted longer than normal. You blacked out. You've been out for a while. Doc said it was your body's way of trying to protect your brain."

I swallow hard, a tiny tendril of fear working itself into my stomach. I dismiss the feeling quickly, though. I'm Maximum Ride. I can handle anything.

"I think you gave your family quite the scare," The doctor says to me. My eyes roam the room and grow wide when I see the IV in my arm. Instantly, I am flooded with memories, memories of growing up in a dog crate, memories of being poked and prodded, beaten and bloodied… memories of the school. My breathing begins to pick up as my eyes zero in on the sharp object. I have to get out of here. They're going to do tests on me. I have to get out. I have to-

Two fingers under my chin, pulls my attention away from my arm. Fang looks me dead in the eye. "It's okay. You're fine. Things aren't the way they used to be. You know that." I nod shakily, but looking into his eyes I can tell he's having a hard time not whisking me away and out of this hospital himself.

"We're just going to do some blood work and then we'll send you on your way. We should have the results back in a few weeks so we'll give you a call. Though, if you have any… complications, don't hesitate to come back in," The doctor explains and then exits the room, leaving the nurse to take my blood. I put on a stoic emotionless mask while she takes my blood, but on the inside, I am screaming. My heart says run while my head tells me that everything is fine. I even out my breathing, taking comfort in my flock's faces and Fang's hand in mine.

"Alright Max. You're all set," The nurse tells me sometime later.

I thank her and when she offers me a wheelchair I give her a freaking death glare. Right, like I can't walk. My mother and Fang also try to help me up, but I flash them my middle finger. Mom chastises me but it was worth it to get them to back off.

I get out of my bed with ease. I feel fine, great actually, rejuvenated. Everyone looks at me as if I am about to keel over and die right where I stand. "Are we going to go home or would you all rather just stand there like idiots?" I snap, stomping out of the room. I hear a low chuckle behind me. Dang Fang. rhymed! Hey I'm a poet and I didn't even know it! Okay, that was cheesy. I sincerely apologize. I'll blame it on the brain explosions.

The car ride home is a little tense, like everyone is walking on eggshells, until Nudge finally breaks down. She's worried about me… really worried. I console her the whole way home, my heart breaking even more when Gazzy and Angel shed a few tears. I really had scared them and the worst thing was… I couldn't tell them that I was fine without lying to them because…. Well, what if I'm not fine? Gotta die somehow right?

Mom tries to get me to go straight up to bed when we walk in the house, but I won't hear of it. I don't want to sleep, or even lie down. I feel like I've been doing that for days.

"Can't we do something? Something fun? Mom!"

"Hmm?" She murmurs, distracted.

"I'm talking to you!" I complain.

"I heard you, Max," She says, calmly, searching through fridge.

My head comes up as I hear the front door open and then slam shut. "Oh thank God!" Carter gushes, wrapping me in a bear hug. She pulls back and then hits me playfully in the arm. "I should hate you for scaring me like that!"

"But you don't," I say simply, shrugging. "You couldn't hate me."

She sighs, giving up. "So what's up?"

"Well, I asked mom if we could do something but she's ignoring me because apparently I should be upstairs resting."

Carter's eyes light up with an idea. "You know you can always go dress shopping…"

I stare at her blankly.

"Please!" She begs. "Austin is making me go with him so you have to go too! It wouldn't be fair if you didn't."

"I'm not the one with the wack boyfriend who wants to go to some stupid high school dance," I explain, seriously.

"Max! You don't even have to dance…. Just do it for me please? If you do this then we'll be even for you scaring the crap out of me!" She pins me with puppy dog eyes. Well. Crap.

* * *

Why am I here? Someone please explain this to me.

"Max your figure would look amazing in this!" Nudge gushes, holding up a hot pink knee length dress. I make a gagging motion and Nudge begins to pout. "We've been here for two and a half hours! We've been to nine stores and you haven't tried on one dress! You're impossible Max!"

I shrug, unaffected by her outburst. "Find me something reasonable and I'll try it on." I plop down on a bench by the dressing room, letting Nudge and Carter pick out options. Carter had found her dress about an hour ago. It was navy blue. The top was made of loose flowy material and there was a tight band of fabric right under her boobs where the fabric grew tight, clinging to her slender body. The dress was stunning on her and stood out against her ivory skin and stark black hair. She wasn't sure about it, but I was, and when she finally purchased it after staring in the mirror for thirty minutes, I told her that we should just head on home since we found what we came for. She wouldn't even listen to me! She insisted that now all the focus could be on finding me a dress. My plan of distracting her into leaving after she had found her own dress had failed. Now I'm screwed.

"Max! Max! Max!" Carter cries out, running toward me. She shoves a garment behind her back and looks at me very seriously. "Please. Please. Please actually look at it before you reject it. I think this is the one."

I hold my breath as she brings a black dress out from behind her back. I look over it carefully. It looks tight and a little on the short side. It's simple, yet sexy and dangerous. When I don't immediately protest, Carter throws the dress at me. She squeals loudly. "We did it Nudge!"

Grumbling under my breath I head into the dressing room and put on the dress. I'd love to say that it looks awful, but the weird thing was, it doesn't. The dress is amazing, hugging my small yet defined curves. I survey myself in the mirror and realize that I hardly recognize the girl looking back. I look….. do I look pretty? Maybe even sexy? I shudder at the thought and hold my breath while I walk out to show Nudge and Carter. I swear they carried on about that dress for at least thirty minutes. I gave feeble protests as we walked to the counter to check out, but I knew it was a lost cause.

* * *

"I got my dress today…" I tell Fang. He merely looks at me.

"What's it like?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" I tease. "You don't get to see it until the day of the dance…. Which I'm dreading by the way."

Fang sighs. "You and me both. This is all your fault anyways. If you hadn't agreed, we wouldn't have gotten roped into this."

I shrug. "Maybe…"

Silence fills the air around us, the only sound coming from the TV whose volume is turned down really low.

"Are you scared?" Fang finally asks, looking down at me where my head is resting in his lap.

I don't pretend not to know what he's talking about. Fang and I never had a discussion about my recent brain explosions.

I consider my answer carefully and then shake my head. "Nah… I'm Maximum Ride remember? I don't get scared," I joke trying to lighten the mood, but my effort is only halfhearted. Fang is all serious. I know how worried is, and I just wish I could do something to reassure him.

"Hey," I murmur, cupping his face with my hands and forcing him to look at me. "I'm okay." I kiss his forehead. "We're okay."

He sighs heavily and rubs closed fists over his eyes. It's then that I see how messed up he really is about all of this. Fang looks ready to explode.

"Could be nothing," I say, softly.

"Nothing?" He scoffs. "I watched you scream in agony, knowing there was nothing I could do about it, nothing that I could scare away or fight off and you think that's nothing? For as long as I can remember I've been fighting battles right alongside of you and now I have to stand back and watch you fight this battle alone. I just…. God you know how much I love you." He rakes a frustrated hand through his hair.

"You just what?" I ask, gently, referring to his unfinished sentence.

He looks at me. "I just wish it was me instead of you."

"Don't say that," I murmur, reaching up to push hair out of his eyes. He shrugs. "I'm glad it's me and not you. I couldn't stand it if it was you."

He swallows hard and I lean up and kiss his neck. "You know I'm a fighter," I say between kisses, working my way up his neck and jaw. "And you know I can handle this."

He nods quickly, and roughly grabs my chin, jerking my face up and slamming his lips into mine. He kisses me as if this will be our last kiss, with force and hunger and love and urgency. It kind of frightens me, to see him so frantic and uncontrolled. I would do anything to take his pain away…. because I know just as good as anybody that emotional pain sometimes hurts worse than physical pain.


	22. Chapter 22

**Umm WOW. What else can I say? You guys are AH-MAZING. I was only looking for about two to three reviews on that last chapter and you gave me like 14! You literally made my day! Keep'em coming! I wasn't going to update today because I was super busy but I just couldn't leave you guys hanging after you all were so friggin fantastic in your reviews! And now I will go into my usual ramble about my day which you all don't care about but I'll say it anyways. My team won our tournament! WOO-HOO! And tonight my team took part in something called Glory Gang. Truly life changing. We got to give presents to kids who can't afford Christmas. They broke my heart into pieces. They were all so grateful and wonderful and I felt blessed to know them. It felt really good to give them a Christmas when they're own parents couldn't afford it. OKAY! End of ramble. Back to the story. This chapter is a bit CLICHÉ! You have been warned and I apologize if you feel like Max gets a bit OOC! I did my best…. Let me know what you think in your reviews!...**

**KarleeRay**

I survey myself carefully in the mirror, feeling vulnerable and exposed. The dress is tight, my hair is curled and the girls went to town with the makeup. Who is this girl looking back at me? The girl with shiny dark hair and long tan legs? The girl with smoldering smoky eyes and an arrogant smirk? She's beautiful, fierce, dangerous. I've never seen her before.

I turn away, feeling in a daze.

"Fang is going to freak!" Carter squeals, applying lip gloss to Ella's pouty lips. Carter fluffs her dark hair with her hands and I eye her and Ella with envy. They look gorgeous, way better than I could ever dream of looking.

My mom and Nudge enter the room then and begin showering me with praises that I pay no attention to.

My stomach begins to knot as everyone rushes around my room, making sure Carter, Ella and I look perfect before Austin gets here to take us to the dance. What if Fang doesn't like the dress? What if he laughs at me? I feel kind of ridiculous… what if he thinks I look ridiculous too?

I exhale deeply as the doorbell rings out the through the house. Nudge comes bursting back into my room. "Austin's here and Fang and Iggy are waiting downstairs! It's go time! Let's go go go!" My mom and Nudge usher us older girls out of my room, chattering about how gorgeous we all are. Blah. Blah. Blah.

I stop at the top of the stairs, letting them all go ahead. I just need a moment to breathe.

"Ta dah!" I hear Nudge scream downstairs. There's a moment of silence and then, "Maaaaaax! You ruined the grand entrance!" She comes barging back up the stairs and before I even have time to run, she latches onto my arm, dragging me downstairs.

"Alright! Alright Nudge, I'm coming," I grumble and she lets go of my arm but keeps a suspicious eye trained on me.

I take a deep deep breath as I step down the last step of the stairs and turn into the living room. For a moment, I swear my heart stops beating. There's only Fang and I, nothing else matters. His eyes bore into mine, literally taking my breath away. I watch as his jaw goes slack, just slightly, so slightly that I'm sure no one but me notices. My eyes trail over his every feature, the messy hair, the olive skin tone, the all black suit that Nudge and Mom forced him to wear, and his eyes…. God, his eyes. Nuff said.

Fang recovers first, coming towards me with a small half smile on his face. He doesn't have a corsage like Austin and Iggy do, and silently I thank God for that. I would have to kick his butt if he got me a corsage. Instead, he carries a single blood red rose. He takes my face into his hands, his eyes wandering over every part of me, and then he places the rose behind my ear. "You are beautiful," He whispers, leaning down to kiss my bare shoulder. I blush and pull away, smiling at him.

"Pictures!" Mom screams, and I am instantly snapped back into reality. I groan out loud and she gives me a disapproving glare. "Only a couple, Max."

"Fine," I grumble, and when she is done taking the pictures, I demand to see them before we leave.

Fang and I, well, Fang and I looked badass, plain and simple. With his all black suit and my black dress, we hardly looked like someone that you would have the balls to mess with. We looked fierce, dangerous, and strikingly stunning. We looked like a power couple, I realize with a start.

"Okay, okay, are we gonna go or what?" I ask, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

Carter gives me a teasing look. "Lighten up, Max. This'll be fun," She trills over her shoulder, walking expertly in her high heels towards the front door.

"Sure," I mutter in response and follow them out.

* * *

"This is impressive," I admit as we enter the cafeteria at the school where the dance is being held. The main lights are off, leaving only the rainbow colors of the disco ball to light the way. Glancing around, I see that the dance floor is already completely occupied with gyrating bodies, most of whom are dancing sincerely inappropriately with someone of the opposite sex. My nose crinkles in disgust. Hoes will be hoes.

"Food," I croon, catching sight of the long food table tucked away at the back of the room. Ella and Carter roll their eyes and then head to the dance floor.

Iggy wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. "My lady wants to dance," He jokes and then him and Austin turn to go out on the dance floor.

I give Fang a look, daring him to ask me to dance. "To the food it is," He decides, and when I grin, he gives me an amused smile and hooks his arm around my shoulders. My eyes roam over the massive food table eagerly, and I don't hesitate to grab a plate and fill it to its maximum capacity.

I find Fang and I a place to sit and eat on the floor. We stay there for at least an hour, making fun of some of the dancers, laughing and playing around like big goofballs. Eventually, though, I get bored just sitting and watching. I stand, holding my hand out to Fang.

He raises his eyebrows in question. "Come on. Let's go walk," I tell him. He follows me without comment as I lead him out of the cafeteria. Technically, we aren't supposed to be roaming the halls, but there's no one around to stop us.

For a while, we just walk the empty halls, talking and laughing, but when we pass the entrance to the gym, I just can't help myself. I barge inside, laughing, and head straight to the back where the fighting equipment is.

"Max, you know we aren't supposed to be in here," Fang tells me. I slip off my uncomfortable shoes and hike my dress up to my upper thigh so that I can launch proper kicks.

"We won't stay long. Promise," I say, positioning myself in front of a punching bag. Fang sighs and lies down on the ground, his eyes tracking my every movement as I start to warm up, throwing soft punches and then hard punches at my punching bag.

"You know most girls wouldn't consider this a fun time," He chimes in, some five minutes later, just as I'm starting to throw in my kicks.

"Well I'm not most girls," I retort, not stopping in my quick sharp movements. "And you knew that when you started dating me, so you don't get to complain."

"Oh believe me…. I am _not _complaining." Something in his voice makes me stop and look at him. His eyes trail over my entire body and his expression tells me he likes what he sees…. alot.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do you have any idea how….. _sexy_ you look right now?" He finally asks, and I roll my eyes.

"Don't be dumb, Fang," I mutter, going back to my punching bag.

"I'm not," He says and suddenly he is right behind me, roughly grabbing my shoulder and backing me up into the wall. "You're driving me insane."

I try to hold back my blush. I fail. His lips find their way to my collar bone and there's something different in his kiss, something more urgent. He works his way across my skin, to my neck. "Have I ever toldyou how amazing you are?"

"mmm… tell me again," I murmur, my own breathing becoming labored in anticipation.

"You. Are. Freaking. Amazing," He grounds out and then gently bites the skin on my neck. I can't hold back the gasp of pleasure that escapes my lips. That did me in. My hands come up and yank him off of my neck, forcing his lips onto mine. Suddenly, his suit is really annoying me. My hands force him out of his jacket and I expertly undo the buttons of his shirt, all without breaking the kiss. I know. I am so talented. After a moment, I notice Fang's hands lingering around the zipper of my dress. I pull back, breathing hard and look into his eyes. Then I nod. Fang wastes no time getting me out of my dress. His eyes and hands roam hungrily over my body and I hardly even notice the fact that I am only in a strapless bra and underwear. Fang takes me by surprise, breaking our kiss to throw me onto the ground. In an instant, he is on top of me, his lips finding their way back to mine. Urges that I didn't even know I had, come rising up inside of me. God, I want him so bad. As if in the blink of an eye, suddenly Fang's pants are off. It is then that I snap back to reality. What the ….? We're in the freaking gym.

"Wait," I gasp as Fang's hands go to his boxers.

He looks up in surprise. "What? You want to stop _now?"_

I look him in the eye, making sure he knows how bad I want him. "Not here," I whisper. He quickly agrees, seeming to just now realize that we're still in the school also.

* * *

So long inappropriate story short, we caught a ride home and snuck up to my room immediately to finish what we started in the gym…. And we did. And it was amazing. Fang took things so slow, not pressuring me into doing anything I didn't want to do and being extremely careful not to hurt me too badly. It _did _hurt, but I've felt worse and the pain was almost instantly replaced with a pleasure I had never felt before. Our bodies worked with each other, moving completely in sync. It was perfect. Amazing. Words can't describe it.

I am more in love with Fang now than ever before.


	23. Chapter 23

**This chapter is long and boring yet totally necessary so just bear with me! Because this chapter is so boring and because I love you all so much, I will probably be updating again today….. Anyway, I will skip my long rambling today and just head straight into the story. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! And tell me what you think!**

KarleeRay

"Yo! Up and at' em!" I yell, walking into Fang's room with an enormous plate of breakfast. I know he hears me, but he doesn't stir. Annoyed, I walk over to his bed and lie the plate down on the night stand. "Doctor called. My results are back," I tell him, knowing that this will be enough to get him up. Sure enough his head jerks up. I shrug. "You coming or not?"

He rolls his eyes. "Coming."

I nod, my eyes trailing over his bare chest while last night's events come rushing back to me. A smile reaches my lips. "That's for you." I point to the breakfast tray I brought in. "We're leaving in thirty." I stand to leave, knowing that he's still naked under the covers and not wanting to be around to react to that sight. He catches my hand though and I swear, that boy grinned. Fang does not grin. He smirks, he half smiles, and he frowns. He does not grin…. And yet here he is, grinning at me.

"Last night…" He starts.

I cut him off, smiling. "I know." Leaning down, I press a kiss to his forehead.

"How are you? Any pain?" Fang asks, suddenly concerned.

"Just a little sore. Nothing I can't handle." I flash him one last smile and then turn and walk out of his room.

* * *

"You are a very tricky case, Max," The doctor tells me while I sit on the checkup bed. Mom and Fang are leaning forward listening attentively in their waiting chairs. "We have to remember that you are enhanced and diseases that affect humans might not affect you in the same way….. That being said, this diagnosis could be wrong, but we're going to try you on treatment for something called Idiopathic Stabbing Headache. After running several tests on you while you were still unconscious, we are fairly certain that your ahh… 'voice'…. Has nothing to do with these episodes. We believe that, were you an unenhanced person, you would have a normal case of Idiopathic Stabbing Headache, but because you are enhanced, your body has enhanced this disease."

"Is there a cure?" Mom pipes up. "I mean, there has to be something we can do to keep her from that kind of pain."

"Ahhh well yes, there must be something, but we might have to try out a few things before we get the right one. You have to understand… we've never seen anything like this…. Our first treatment option is simple…. Melatonin has been known to severely calm the effects of this disease. We're going to put Max on a large amount of this and we'll have you come in for regular checkups…. In the meantime, the other doctors and I will be reviewing your case and making sure that we have diagnosed you correctly…. How does that sound?"

I shrug, secretly relieved that my "disease" isn't life threatening. My eyes meet Fang's and he gives me a reassuring glance.

The doctor hands me a piece of paper with a prescription scrawled on it, tells us a quick goodbye, and leaves the room.

Silence fills the air. "Well…. At least I'm not dying," I say, simply.

My mom balks while Fang lets out a low chuckle.

"Of course you aren't dying! What ever would give you that idea?" Mom cries, obviously upset.

"Just a joke, Mom." I hop off the checkup table and lead the way out of the room.

"Well, it wasn't very funny," Mom mutters, trailing behind me.

I have to laugh. She is so protective sometimes. "I told you I was fine! And now you know I am."

* * *

"So I'm on Melatonin for now," I tell Trent as we sit in our first period Basic Math class.

He nods, slowly. "So now you can stop giving me heart attacks with your random overdramatic death scenes?"

A laugh escapes my lips. "Can you ever be serious? You are quite the character, my friend."

"And you love me that way, don't you Maxie?"

I groan at his dumb nickname for me. I don't know if I ever told you this, but I just love Trent, love how he can lighten any room with his sense of humor. "I told you to stop calling me that."

Suddenly, his expression sobers up, a rare occasion. "You really did scare me, Max."

"I know," I murmur, giving him a soft smile.

There's a moment of silence as Trent sits with the information I gave him about my diagnosis. He joked the whole way through my explanation, but I knew that he really was relieved that it looked like I wasn't suffering from anything life threatening. Then, his expression brightens back up and he's back to being Trent. He gives me a goofy smile. "Hey do you wanna come Christmas shopping with me after school?"

Christmas shopping? Say what? Was it really December? Already? Thoughts whirl around in my head. The flock and I have never really celebrated a Christmas. We never had the luxury of exchanging gifts and eating until our stomachs were about to burst. No one ever cared enough to lie to us about some fat man who breaks into your house in the middle of the night and leaves you gifts… which I think is really weird. If I ever woke up to friggin 'Santa' breaking into my living room, I would beat the crap out of him and send him on his way. I've never been Christmas shopping either. The thought warms me. My flock would be ecstatic.

"Christmas shopping, eh?" I ask him.

He nods. "The only person I have left to buy for is my mom…. But if you need to do some shopping for your big ole family, then I'm happy to help."

I find myself, grinning, thinking of all the things I could get my flock that would make them happy. Celebrating Christmas with my family for the first time sounds amazing. "Well…. Kind of forgot about Christmas so yeah I've got some shopping to do….. What's the date?"

"December 10. You got 15 days left. You better get to trucking," He tells me.

"Yeah…. I suppose so. Um can you pick me up at my house around 5? I have to go home and get some money."

Trent grins. "Anything for you, Max."

* * *

As if on cue, we arrive home to my mom hanging up Christmas decorations all over the house. Christmas lights hang on our roof and on the fence outside and there's a bare Christmas tree sitting in our living room.

"Yeah I thought we could all decorate it together. You know because it's our first Christmas as a family?" Mom says, looking excited and hopeful. Nudge, Angel and Gazzy's faces are alight with wonder.

"Zomg! This gonna be so fun! We've never celebrated Christmas before have we Max? OMG! I have to go shopping! Wait… we are doing presents right?"

Ella laughs. "Of course we're doing presents, Nudge."

Nudge squeals, and grabs Angel's hand, pulling her upstairs. Gazzy cheers loudly. "Wooh! Christmas! Isn't this great, Max?"

I grin, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. "It is pretty great, huh?"

He nods vigorously, making me laugh and then dashes into the kitchen.

"I'm gonna go Christmas shopping today…." I say to my mom. Fang looks at me in surprise. "I'm going with Trent. I won't be too late getting home."

"Take my credit card," Mom mutters, searching through a box of Christmas decorations. "Get as much done as you can."

I nod and then look at Iggy. "Iggy…I'm hungry."

"Oh you're Hungry? Well, I'm Iggy. Nice to meet you."

"Ugh!" I growl, marching into the kitchen. Turning back, I see Fang has followed me and I look at him hopefully.

He rolls his eyes. "Fine. What do you want?" Fang wasn't as good a cook as Iggy, but I'm not picky and I'll take what I can get.

"Something quick. Trent will be here any minute," I tell him.

* * *

As soon as Fang sets a mounded plate of nachos in front of me, the doorbell rings. "Could you get that?" I ask him, shoveling food into my mouth.

Fang returns a minute later, Trent in tow. "I would love to see you get fat, Max," Trent jokes, watching me eat like the savage that I am.

"Never gonna happen," I retort, though a mouthful of food. Trent laughs and even Fang lets out a low chuckle.

Gazzy enters the kitchen and he and Trent carry on a conversation about guns while I polish off the rest of my food. "Done!" I call, getting up and dropping my plate in the sink. Trent starts toward the door and I follow, stopping to give Fang a quick kiss on the lips. His hands linger on my hips and I push him away playfully. "I'll be back later," I chirp over my shoulder and then head outside and climb into the passenger side of Trent's truck.

We head to the mall, going into Kirkland's first to pick up Trent's gift for his mom. It's a really beautiful picture of him and his family blown up and put into an expensive, elegant frame. Then, it's just me, lugging him around from store to store, trying to find the perfect gifts for my family. Nudge is super easy and extremely expensive. I struggle with putting down that much money for something that I thought was so stupid, but I decide that, ultimately, the look on her face when she opens the gift and sees those two hundred dollar pair of Ugg boots will be priceless. Gazzy is pretty simple too. I buy him the black Nike hoodie that he begged my mom for the other day and a big case of Leggo and Bionicle. You would think that because I am shopping I would be having a horrible time, but I'm not. Trent is golden with his jokes, making me laugh constantly and he is really helpful, taking me to the appropriate stores to find the gifts I want. I'm still not very familiar with store names and what they sell. I have bigger and better things to worry about….. like my irresistible boyfriend, my family, and my two best friends, Carter and Trent. Stores don't make my list of things to remember.

Trent leads me to Toys R Us to shop for Angel and what I find there takes my breath away. On the second aisle, on the top shelf, there is a stuffed bear…. But not just any bear…. It's the _exact_ same bear that Angel had mind controlled that woman into buying her way back when we were in New York. It is Celeste, down to the tiny angel wings stuck on its back. Memories come rushing back to me. My breath hitches in my throat as my hand closes around the bear. Celeste had meant everything to Angel, but being on the run, Celeste wasn't practical and Angel had, understandably, ended up kind of forgetting about her and losing her. She had bigger things to think about while on the run, like if we were going to eat that night or when the erasers would find us next. Now, though, things are somewhat normal and Angel could have her Celeste. The gift is absolutely perfect and holds so much sentimental value. I feel tears springing to my eyes, thinking of the way we used to live and how fast we all had had to grow up, but I quickly wipe them away.

"Hey what's wrong? It's just a bear," Trent says gently.

I smile at him. "This is _not_ just a bear." I don't bother explaining to him why the bear is so important. I just head over to the counter and purchase it.

Deciding that I am tired of shopping, we begin to take the long walk back to where we entered the mall.

"I'm definitely happy with what I -"I break off as my eyes roam inside of a cooking ware store. It is then that I know what to get for Iggy. I buy him an extremely expensive set of cooking materials… mixing bowls, pots and pans, spatulas, and a blender. I feel slightly awful about the magnitude of money I have spent, but my mom makes a ton of money, owning one of two vet clinics, and I know she won't mind at all.

We finally make it out of the mall and I pile my gifts in the backseat of Trent's truck.

"So where to now, Princess? Home?" Trent asks, pulling out of the mall parking lot.

"I'm starving," I moan. "Let's go eat."

Trent shakes his head, chuckling. "Always hungry."


	24. Chapter 24

**As promised, here is the second update for today! Yay! I feel like I've been writing all day long! Gahh! This has been my first free day in a very long time! Hmmm I must love you all very much. I actually like this chapter, but you all let me know what you think in your reviews. Yes, your reviews! Come on now! I have spent a very long time writing today, so the least you can do is review! Please! It's not that much to ask! Anyway…. Here's your new chapter. Enjoy and review!**

**KarleeRay**

Apparently, it is the day to be out and Christmas shopping because there are no parking spots anywhere. Finally, Trent and I just get fed up and park the truck on the boardwalk, getting out to walk the half a mile back to Logan's Roadhouse. It is nighttime by now, and Trent and I walk close together down the sidewalk, not wanting to get separated by the crowds of people doing the same thing as we are.

"I think I made a lot of progress today," I tell him, dodging a kid running down the sidewalk at full speed. "But I still don't know what to get Fang."

Trent shrugs. "Don't ask me. You're the only one who really knows him….. and I mean _really knows him_," He says suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Shut up," I mutter, playfully punching him in the arm. "I'm being serious."

"So am I," Trent counters.

I groan out loud. "You're impossible."

* * *

There's a twenty minutes wait at Logan's Roadhouse and when we are finally seated, I'm practically salivating at the mouth. I order an insane amount of food, completely ignoring Trent while he watches me wolf it all down.

"That was impressive, even for you," He says, appraisingly.

I shrug. "You know how I do."

Trent chuckles and then checks his watch. "I should get you home. It's getting late."

I agree and we quickly pay the bill and leave. The sidewalks are even more crowded and I find myself growing increasingly claustrophobic, getting sweaty and panicky…. And things only get worse when I hear a voice sneer, "Hey baby. Come here. I wanna talk to you."

With a start, I realize he's talking to me. There are three of them, smoking outside of a bar. Showing amazing self-control, I completely ignore them.

"Hey! I'm talking to you," He slurs. Deep breath, Max. It's so not worth it.

"Hey man! You should teach your girlfriend some manners!" He calls, directing his attention to Trent.

"You're one to talk about manners," Trent growls, staring them down. He stops in front of them, fists clenched.

"Sharing is caring, man," One of them pipes up. "How about you let us have your girl for the next hour and we'll bring her back to you later? Everyone gets a piece. Everyone's happy."

Woah. My blood begins to boil. How dare he talk about me like that?! What? Like I'm some kind of object!

Trent takes a step forward, but I latch onto his arm before things can get messy. "Let's just go," I say softly, dragging him away from the men. Trent spends the next ten minutes ranting and I have to keep assuring him that it's not a good idea to… ah…. Go back and "rip those guys' heads off". Finally, though, I get him back to his normal cheerful self and it's as if nothing happened.

* * *

I'm beginning to feel claustrophobic again. It's extremely hot in these crowds of people, and I really don't like it.

Out of sheer luck, I spot a deserted alleyway and head straight for it, remembering that if we take this alley, ultimately, it will take us back to the truck. I sigh in relief, breathing in deeply.

"This is a shortcut," I tell Trent. Technically, it wasn't shorter, but Trent didn't really need to know about my claustrophobic freak out.

He shrugs. "As long as it gets me to my truck."

We walk in silence for a short while, and then Trent starts up with some jokes again, making me laugh until tears leak from my eyes. That boy was just so charismatic.

The truck was within view for my raptor-like eyesight, when the back of my neck begins to prickle. I do a complete 360, (old habits die hard), but I don't see anything. My brow wrinkles in confusion as my neck prickles again. Trust your instincts, Max.

I stop, listening, and find that I can hear footsteps coming towards us. Shrugging it off, I continue walking.

"You okay?" Trent asks, and I nod.

My sharp hearing picks up on the footsteps breaking into a run and I turn around to see the three guys jogging lazily toward us. Wordlessly, I nudge Trent whose expression darkens as he turns around and sees what I have seen.

We stop walking, knowing that a confrontation is inevitable.

"Hey beautiful! Where do you think you're going?" The big one calls, coming to a stop in front of us.

"Well I was thinking about going home but beating up on some sexist jerks sounds a bit more entertaining than that," I say, tightly, fists clenching.

"Come on baby! It don't gotta be like that. You just come with us. I promise you'll love it," The other one slurs, walking slowly towards me.

That's when Trent loses his cool, throwing the first punch at one of the guys. The guy goes down, but his buddies could care less. They advance towards me.

"Come on over here, sweetie. Say hello to your daddy," The big one sneers.

Um, no thanks. Gross. "Say hello to my fist," I snarl.

He starts to say something, but is instantly cut off when my knuckles connect with his face smashing his fragile human bones. He flails backwards, falling to the ground. I turn around to see Trent still locked in a fight with the first guy.

The last guy comes at me, and I swing a punch at him. I'm surprised when he easily dodges it, but I shouldn't be. I should know by now that over half of this city is enhanced.

He's angry now, and he shows that by ramming me into the brick wall behind me. My head slams against the brick and I see stars for a moment. God, he was fast.

"It's okay. I like'em feisty," He whispers, his hot breath trailing over my neck. I struggle against him, but he has my arms pinned down tightly to the wall, and we are pretty evenly matched in the strength department. His gross lips find their way to my neck and then work their way up my jaw and lastly, to my protesting lips.

Furious, I bring my knee crashing up, hitting him squarely where the sun don't shine. He recoils, bending over in pain, and I take this chance to land a few amazingly hard punches to his face, showing no mercy. I honestly have no idea how he is still on his feet, but he is, and he manages to throw a decent punch to my right eye and my mouth. I spit blood out of my mouth, trying to see through the red haze of rage clouding over my vision. With a furious roar, I spring at him, taking him to the ground. We struggle for a moment, before I am able to straddle his waist. My fist crushes into his face over and over again. I don't stop until he is out cold.

I get off of him just in time to see the two other guys running away from Trent, who is lying on the ground. I hurry towards him, spitting blood out on the ground.

He's unconscious. His face is beaten up, blood leaking from his nose and a swelling left eye, but he seems to be okay. I lean down, slapping his cheeks lightly to wake him up. Finally, his eyes flutter open. "Hey… you okay?" I ask.

He catches sight of me and jumps up, looking around wildly. "They're gone," I say and he relaxes slightly.

He looks back at me. "Are _you _okay?" His hand reaches out, attempting to stop the steady flow of blood leaking out of the side of my mouth.

"I'm fine. Come on. My mom will be wondering where I am."

* * *

Trent seems in a daze as he drives me home. He asks me repeatedly if I am okay but says nothing else about the matter.

"It's not your fault, you know," I say breaking the silence, knowing him well enough to know that he's silently beating himself up. "Just because I was with you doesn't make it your fault."

He shrugs, and I let it go.

"You should come in," I say as Trent pulls up and parks in front of my house. "Let my mom clean you up."

He nods, and I take his hand, dragging him up the front steps and in the front door.

"Mom!" I yell. "I'm home!"

She emerges from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron. She catches sight of me, of my bloody face and swollen shut right eye, and gasps, rushing towards me. "Max! What happened! Are you okay? Are you-"

"I'm fine," I cut her off. "It looks worse than it is. It's just my lip and eye."

She relaxes slightly. "Come into the kitchen and let me clean you up…. Both of you."

Trent and I follow her into the kitchen, and I perch myself up onto the counter.

Mom wets a wash cloth and starts to come toward me, but I shake my head. "Him first. He has to get home." She hesitates. "Mom! I'm fine!"

Finally, she agrees, beginning to wipe down Trent's face.

I hear footsteps coming down the stairs, and then everyone enters the kitchen, coming to see what the commotion is all about.

Fang catches sight of me and his eyes widen in surprise. "Max what the ….?" He rushes to the sink, wetting a wash cloth and coming to stand in front of me. He begins to dab my mouth and chin, and I wince before I can stop myself. His eyes express his concern and his motions even seem a little panicky. "What the hell happened?" He looks me in the eyes, all serious. He'll know if I am lying to him. I sigh, and quickly tell them all the whole story, editing some of the nasty things the guys said but making sure they knew what happened. Fang is absolutely livid by the time I am finished. His whole body quakes with rage.

"I swear I'll find them. I'll find them and-"

"Hey," I murmur, soothingly. I put my hands on both sides of his face and look into his eyes. "It's okay. I'm okay. I took care of it."

"No Fang's right, Max. We should find them and-" I shoot Ella a pleading glance as Iggy starts to rant, and she assumes a similar position to that of mine and Fang's, placing her hands on both sides of Iggy's cheeks and forcing him to look at her.

"Fang, go get Max into a bath and then to bed," My mom orders, looking distraught. "I'll walk Trent out."

Fang grabs my hand, pulling me up the stairs and into the bathroom. Honestly, I thought they were all overreacting. I was quite obviously fine.

He sits me down on the closed toilet seat and paces the length of the small bathroom, running frustrated hands through his hair. I sit silently, letting him vent. Finally, he stops squatting down in front of me. "Promise me you're okay."

I sigh. "I'm okay, Fang. Honest."

He nods, reaching out. His finger traces the swollen bumps of my face, feather light, and I shiver. He reaches for the hem of my shirt, beginning to pull it over my head.

"I do remember how to take my own clothes off," I tease, lightly.

I am rewarded with the smallest of smiles. "I know, but I just do it so much better," He murmurs, and I laugh standing and pushing him out of the bathroom.

The hot water works wonders on my body, and as sick and twisted as it sounds, I kind of enjoyed getting into a fight. The rush was just amazing.

I don't stay in the shower long, knowing that Fang will be waiting for me. I wrap myself in a towel and head to my room, throwing on some PJs. Fang walks in just as I'm pulling on my underwear and he ushers me into bed, slipping in beside me.

Fang held me tightly to him all night long, not leaving to go into his room like he normally did, and it was the best night's sleep I had had in a long time.


	25. Chapter 25

**I don't even know what to say on behalf of this chapter. It's awful, poorly written, short, and extremely random. I'm experiencing writer's block…. Well maybe not writer's block, I've just been extremely busy with basketball this week and I forced myself to write this chapter instead of letting the ideas come to me like I normally do. So I'm sorry but this chapter SUCKS. Also, I'm sorry for the very late update. Gah, I'm freaking sorry for everything! Haha. Ummm what else? Have I mentioned that this chapter SUCKS? Gee, I really am sorry for this. Feel free to chew me out in your REVIEWS. I could really use some reviews! Like really bad! I need inspiration. Please don't give up on this story because of this chapter! I promise it'll be back to normal as soon as possible, I just felt like I had to yall _SOMETHING_.**

**Oh yeah I wanted to address a review! Um someone asked me if Max and Fang did "it". And the answer is, YES. Max and Fang did the dirty. FINALLY! I'm sorry if I was too vague for that to come across, but I was trying to keep it Rated T. Um I did talk about how Max experienced pain and that Fang took things slow… um yeah and even the next morning Fang asks her if she is in pain and she says she is sore. And Max tries to leave the room because she knows Fang is still naked under the covers and doesn't want to be around to react to that sight.**

**Okay. On with this awful, FLUFF filled chapter. Please note that this chapter is in Fang POV!**

**KarleeRay**

_**Fang POV**_

"It wasn't your fault," Max insists, staring down Trent like she stares me down when we're having an argument. She has that look on her face, the one that says she's not going to stop until you see things her way. When Trent doesn't answer, Max turns to me, exasperated. "Tell him! Tell him, Fang. Tell him it's not his fault so he'll stop acting like this."

My gaze shifts to Trent, who is sitting on the end of Max's bed. Truth be told, even though I know it's ridiculous, I do kind of blame Trent for what happened. It's obvious to anyone that it wasn't his fault, but some part of me won't let it go. If Max had been with me instead of him, she wouldn't be sporting a black eye and swollen lip. Those jerks wouldn't have even touched her. I would have taken care of them from the start….. Of course, that is the over-protective-boyfriend in me talking so I might be a little biased.

I sigh. "It wasn't your fault, bud."

Max smiles. "See? No one blames you, especially not me, and it'd be really cool if I could have my best friend back instead of this freaking zombie you have become!"

Trent throws a grin at her. I could see the fakeness of it from a mile away, but Max seems pleased.

"I'm gonna head out," Trent says, hopping up off of the bed. He strides towards the door, stopping in the doorway. He gives Max and I a wicked grin. "Don't you two go doing anything I wouldn't do!"

Max rolls her eyes, walking over to her bed. My eyes track her movements, drinking in every part of her. I silently admire the way my baggy sweat pants hang just a tad too low on her slender hips, the way her tank top hugs her tiny torso, revealing the smallest amount of her stomach.

I get up, following her to the bed, and lie down beside her. She sighs, heavily, and I turn to face her. "What is it?"

Troubled brown eyes flicker up to mine. "I just feel bad for him."

Trent. She feels bad for Trent. She shouldn't. Max should feel sorry for Max. She was the one who got beat up. "Don't," I murmur, reaching out to brush hair out of her eyes. My fingertips roam over her face, tracking all the swollen bumps that don't belong there. I lean forward, bring my lips to her face as if I can kiss away the pain.

She trembles just slightly under my feather light touch, and my mouth quirks up into the slightest of smiles. Memories from the other night come rushing back to me, the way Max felt under my fingertips, the way her naked body curved perfectly into mine, the way she arched her back in pleasure, silently driving me crazy. I honestly don't think she knows the affect she has on me. Sure. I'm Mister Emotionless, but if what I feel for Max isn't "head over heels" in love, then I don't know what is. I've never been a touchy-feely kind of guy. Locking away my feelings was always something that I did, and, at first, I hated the way Max could pull things out of me. Then, I learned to rely on her, to take comfort in having someone, _anyone_, who understands me. And Max did. Does. We have always been completely in sync, basically reading each other's minds since we were born. In my opinion, if you have someone like that, well you better snatch them up and hang on for dear life.

Max smiles, slightly, and the air around us seems lighter. "I love you," she murmurs, tucking her head into my chest. I swear, I would never get tired of hearing that. After all the time I spent trying to get Max to realize her feelings for me, I would never take a moment with her for granted. My arms wind around her waist, and I bury my nose into her hair as if I can hide there and never come out.

She pulls back to look at me. "What? I don't get one back?"

That gets me, and my mouth turns up in a half smile. "I love you too, Max." I lean forward until our mouths are centimeters apart. "So much," I breathe, waiting for her to close the distance between us. Finally, she does, bringing the fierceness in her kiss that I have learned to crave. My hands slide over her back, fingers trailing over her wings. Her tongue flickers against my bottom lip, begging entrance. My intent was to make her wait, to tease her, but I often lose control around Max, and my mouth opens on its own accord. Our tongues meet, tangling themselves in a wrestling match. A groan builds itself up in my throat, but I force it back down.

Too soon, Max pulls away. "Hey! What gives?" I ask her.

"Our relationship can't just be physical you teenage boy you," Max teases. It's clear, to me at least, that she doesn't mean what she says, that she would love to bring her lips back to mine.

I feel my eyes roll. "What do you want to do then?"

"We could just talk, you know," She suggests, smiling softly. "I'm still your best friend."

God, why is she so cute? Yeah. I said it. Max is _cute_… sexy, beautiful, gorgeous, whatever you want to call it.

"Okay sweetie," I murmur, pulling her back into my chest where she belongs.

So we talk. For hours, at least. Admittedly, Max does most of the talking while I just watch, intrigued by her very word. She makes me laugh, _three times_, in one hour. She's the only person on this earth that can do that. I watch, amused, as her eyelids begin to droop, as her speech starts to turn into a delirious mess. She begins to laugh a little too much at things that aren't funny and I know that it's time to sleep. Without a word, I turn her over, spooning her from behind. She doesn't even fight me, just sighs happily when I tell her that I love her for the second time that night.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello faithful readers! Thank you for bearing with me! Here is, yet another, late update. It is also short and slightly uneventful, but the next chapter will be better! I plan to post it either later today or as early as possible tomorrow! Updates might be a little slow next week because of finals and basketball games, and I am very behind in my schoolwork… which tends to happen when you miss four days of school the week before finals for a basketball tournament! Anyway, yesterday I, like most of the United States, heard about the Connecticut elementary school shooting yesterday, and my heart goes out to all those involved. It seriously blows my mind how anyone could commit such a horrible crime. I'll be praying for the mommies and daddies who lost their children only a few short weeks before Christmas, and yes I said CHRISTmas.**

**That being said, I am now done with my extremely long rant. Enjoy this mushy chapter…**

**KarleeRay**

"What was that about? Where were you tonight?" Fang asks, softly, referring to my awful performance in my game that night. We lost, for the very first time, and I gotta admit, I'm not loving this feeling too much.

I sigh, heavily. "Your guess is as good as mine." My heart feels heavy. I let my team down. My head just was not in the game tonight. It was, however, on other things…..things such as Trent, who was retreating farther and farther back into himself. I just didn't understand him, didn't understand what was going on. At first I thought it was all about those guys who roughed us up a bit on our shopping trip, and it was at first, he admitted to it, but now I know it's something else. He doesn't seem angry, just defeated and…. Tired, so tired. I've asked him about it, like a million times, but he refuses to say that anything's wrong. Sometimes, when it's just him and I talking, I can see glimpses of his normal goofy self, but just as quickly as they appear, they're gone.

"Hey…. It's just a game, Max" Fang murmurs, cupping my face.

"We lost because of me!" I counter, suddenly angry. I slip out of his grasp and stand, pacing back and forth. "If I hadn't turned the ball over at the beginning of the fourth, then we could have won! Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! What a dumb thing to do! I handed them that win!"

Fang listens to my rant, quietly. "That's not fair. Everyone made mistakes in that game. None of you played to the best of your abilities."

"It doesn't matter how _they_ did! I'm supposed to be the captain! They _rely_ on my points, and I let them down!"

"I don't know what to tell you, Max," Fangs says, after a moment of silence. "You're being too hard on yourself. Yeah, you're the captain, but at the end of the day, there's no _I _in _team_."

I snort. What a cliché thing to say.

"I'm not finished," Fang snaps, and I instantly quiet down. "What I'm trying to say is that you all are a _team_, and you can't pin the blame on one person. What if Carter hadn't missed that easy lay up? What if Allie hadn't gotten beat to the basket? What if Chrissa hadn't air balled that wide open 3?"

I sit back down on the bed, realizing the truth of his words.

"You see?" He murmurs, wrapping his arms around me. "If none of that happened, you would've won the game, too. You're not the only one who messed up."

I nod, twisting in his arms to give him a slow peck on the cheek.

"You missed," Fang complains, gently, and I have to give a small, reluctant smile as I bring my lips down on his, softly, looking for comfort, not lust. Fang seems to understand, making the kiss slow and gentle and loving.

Fang pulls back first, pinning me with his stare. "Now, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you." I start to protest, but he cuts me off. "I'm not saying that you aren't upset about your game….I'm only saying that there's more to it than that."

I sigh, heavily, shoulders sagging in defeat. "You know what it is."

"Trent?" He guesses, and I nod.

"I don't understand why he's acting like this. I mean, I'm supposed to be his best friend… why won't he let me in?"

Fang snorts. "Huh. That sounds eerily familiar to a situation I've been in my whole life."

He's referring to me, to how closed off I am and how difficult it was to get me to talk to him at times. "You're saying I'm being too hard on him," I mutter, grudgingly.

"I'm saying that, from my own personal experience in dealing with you, he'll tell you if or when he's ready. You can't force someone to tell you something and begging doesn't really with…. Uhh_… annoyingly stubborn people._"

He nudges me and, I smirk, softly. "Watch yourself, Fang."

We sit in comfortable silence for a few moments before Fang kisses the back of my neck and slides out from under me.

"Where are you going?" I ask, trying to keep the whine out of my voice.

"Going to shower. You get some sleep," He answers as he walks out the door to my room.

Suddenly, I'm feeling very lonely, and I find myself walking down the stairs. I hear soft voices coming from the living room, and I follow the sound. My head peeks out from around the kitchen doorway.

Angel spots me immediately, and she jumps up from her knees and bounds towards me. I open my arms just in time for her to jump into them. Wow. She hasn't done that in forever. I have to admit, it feels nice. Angel is seven now and pretty tall, but regardless of that, I shift her onto my hip like I always did when she actually was the baby. She looks up at me, eyes gleaming. "Max! We were just about to come and get you and Fang." She holds up a Christmas ornament of a ballerina for me to see. I have absolutely no idea what a ballerina has to do with this Christmas, but the ornament was nice all the same. "Isn't it pretty?"

I nod. "It's beautiful, Ange." My free hand brushes hair off of her forehead so that I can kiss it, and then I set her down, watching in awe as she scampers back towards the enormous box of ornaments. Gazzy and Nudge are sifting excitedly through the box, chattering about which ones they were going to put on the tree first. Ella is curled up on the couch next to Iggy who has a smile on his face even though he isn't witnessing the beautiful scene unfolding before my eyes. I stand in the kitchen doorway, eyes eagerly drinking in all the details of this moment. My kids, my flock, looking young and innocent all over again, faces alight with wonder. I have literally dreamed of this day.

Tears start in my eyes and, out of habit, I quickly wipe them away with the back of my hand.

"Stop," Mom says, from behind me. She grabs my hands away from my face, so that I can't hide my tears, and puts them back at my sides. "It's okay to feel, Max. Open your eyes and let yourself _feel _this."

She wraps her arms around me from behind, smiling, and I let her. My tears roll down my cheeks, and I am captivated by the scene in front of me. I watch in silence as Gazzy finds an ornament in the box, covered in midnight blue sequins and sparkles. He jumps up and runs over to Iggy. "This one's real pretty, huh, Ig?" He asks, and I feel my heart break. Iggy's sensitive fingers roam over the ornament, and then grumpy, sarcastic Iggy's face lights up, and he smiles. I feel my face crumple, tears erupting from my eyes. New arms replace my mother's, arms that I would know anywhere, and I lean back into Fang's embrace. I don't have to explain myself. He knows.

My head lolls back, and I find myself staring at the ceiling…. well, not so much at the ceiling as just staring _up_, in the general of the sky, where I imagine Heaven would be. For the first time, I truly believe that there is a God, because things like this don't just happen to me on their own accord. Something, or rather _someone _made this happen, someone bigger than all of us. There has to be a God.

_Thanks Big Guy._


	27. Chapter 27

**Hello there, my loves! Here is the next chapter, just slightly later than promised. I know yall don't want my excuses, but I was going to post it early this morning, however my mother had the sudden overwhelming desire for Christmas shopping at eight in the morning! I know! She is cray cray! Omg. Forget I said that. I HATE that word, phrase, slang, whatever you want to call it.**

**Anywho. I wanted to address a review. Umm someone posted that "I love Criminal Minds! And I hate flaming, and I really hope this isn't one, but how is Criminal Minds still being produced?"**

**My answer to this is….. Ummm what is flaming? I literally sat there for like five minutes trying to understand what you were referring to, and I just couldn't. Maybe I'm being dim-witted, but could someone help me out here? And on the Criminal Minds…. GREAT QUESTION! I feel really dumb for not clarifying that the Criminal Minds episodes Max, Ella, and Carter are obsessed with are not actually NEW. They are only new to Max because she has never had the luxury of being able to watch TV. The episodes being aired are all old episodes that have already come out, but as everyone should know there are like a bazillion episodes sooooo….. her supply of "new episodes" is like endless.**

**Enjoy this chapter and don't get too upset about the ending. It is what it is. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Let me know all your thoughts… you guys have been amazing on that lately. I love yall!... but not in a weird way.**

**KarleeRay**

"Well the kids are really missing you," I tell Dylan over the phone.

He laughs. "Just the kids, huh?"

"Well…. I might miss you too….. just a little," I say grudgingly, but anyone could hear the smile in my voice.

"I miss you too, Max. All of you. Send the flock my love, will ya?"

"For sure. Night, Dylan," I say, hanging up the phone. Dylan was doing great on his own, and I was genuinely happy for him. We did our best to keep in touch, but mostly we only caught glimpses of each other during school and had less than frequent long talks on the phone. Sad really. I"ll have to make a point to hang out with him.

"You better get to sleep. School tomorrow," Fang mumbles into my hair. I shrug him off, eyes glued to Criminal Minds.

"Maybe _you_ should get to sleep if you're so worried about it," I tell him, matter of factly.

"Alright. Fine," He says simply and slips out of my bed. My body instantly misses his warmth.

"Nooooo," I whine, reaching for him. "Don't go."

Fang half smiles, and I realize he was only kidding. He never intended to leave. I glare at him. "Well if you insist." He comes back over to the bed and lies down beside me.

"You're mean," I say, childishly, and he chuckles.

"But you love me," He murmurs. "You loooove me this muuuuch? Rememberrr?"

I feel a grin take over my face at the memory. He hasn't said that in forever.

"Yeah," I whisper, looking into his eyes. "Yeah I do."

He stares in my eyes for a moment longer, and then crushes his lips to mine. I reciprocate quickly, tracing my tongue along his bottom lip. Fang trembles beside me, and I smirk into his mouth. His hands roam over my barely-there curves, and I let them, loving the feel of his hands on my bare skin.

"Max," He murmurs, into my skin, and I feel myself losing control. Passion, white and hot, churns inside me. My hands roam up Fang's shirt, fingers grazing his chiseled stomach, before snatching his shirt off completely.

My lips find their way to his stomach, nipping at his tight skin. Fang groans, softly.

"Your turn," He whispers, reaching for the hem of my shirt and pulling it over my head. He drinks in my form for a few moments before he swiftly undoes my bra as if he's been doing it his entire life. His hands roam down to my thighs, grabbing them and hitching them around his waist, and I knew there was no turning back at that point. I needed him.

Fang made love to me for the second time that night.

* * *

"God Carter! Stop making it sound so weird! I wasn't even going to tell you," I admit. Carter had been complaining lately that I was replacing her with Trent. So, I decided to reassure her that we were still close by telling her something that no one else knew.

"Sorry! I just want some details!" She squeals, clutching my arm. "I can't believe you had sex with him, you dirty girl you!"

I groan out loud, throwing my head back. I have a pounding headache from… uhh….. staying up so late last night, and the last thing I want to do is gossip. "Oh my God! I can't even deal with you right now," I snap, speeding up my pace and bee lining away from her. I instantly regret being so sharp with her, but, well, she needs to learn when to back off.

"Hey! Max! What's up?" I look over my shoulder to see Trent jogging to catch up with me. "What's the rush?"

"Really not in the mood," I hedge, not looking at him.

He pauses. "Really? Because I… uhh… I kinda want to talk to you about something."

That stops me dead in my tracks, ignoring the rest of the student body, most of them cursing at me under their breaths for stopping the steady flow of students from hallway to hallway. "Really?" I ask, wanting to make sure he was being straight up with me.

He grins. "Really. I'm ready… what do you have next period? Can you skip?"

"Yeah, I have English. I'll just get Fang to cover for me. Wait here," I tell him, turning around and jogging through the mass of students, looking for Fang. I catch him just before he walks into English and tell him what's going on. He agrees to cover for me, gives me a quick kiss on the lips, and sends me on my way.

* * *

"Alright. Now spill. I've been patient long enough," I say, plopping down on the swing next to Trent's. We had decided that our safest bet would be to leave campus all together, and the park was within walking distance.

Trent sighs deeply, and I turn to look at him. There's a sad, defeated smile on his face. He looks at me with broken eyes.

"Come on. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad," I offer, giving him a smile despite my foul mood.

"_That_ is where you're wrong, Max. It not only _can_ be that bad…. It _is_ that bad." My head snaps up to look at him.

I feel my brow furrow in confusion. "Well are you gonna tell me or did I come out here for nothing?" I snap at him, patience running thin.

The sad smile returns, and he meets my eye. "Remember when I was feeling sick and weird a few weeks back, and I went to the doc? You asked me what he said, and I told you it was nothing…."

I nod, a sinking feeling starting in my stomach.

"I lied to you, Max. I just wasn't ready to tell you yet... but I am now…. and I came here to tell you…. That the truth is… that I was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia when I was four years old. It's something that I've struggled with my whole life…. But I've been in remission for years now. We thought it was over…. When I went to the doctor, they ran a lot of tests, and in the end, they told me that I'm in kidney failure. They put me on the donor list, but… uhh… being in the new world that we live in, there aren't a lot of offers…. I'm dying, Max. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. I don't have too long. I'll be a patient in the hospital pretty soon, and odds are, I won't be coming back out." Trent stops talking, searching my face for a reaction that he isn't going to get.

I literally feel my walls coming back up. I feel the mask that I wore for most of my life take over my face. My eyes stare blankly ahead, jaw clenching while I work to keep my breathing even. How could this be happening? Just when my life was beginning to look up…. Now I'm crashing back down.

"Max? Will you at least say something?" Trent begs, quietly.

I swallow hard. What _can_ I say? One of my best friends is going to die. Anger washes up in me. Of course! Of freaking course this would happen to me! I mean God forbid my life go smoothly! A harsh laugh escapes my lips, and Trent looks at me in surprise. I fling my head back so that I am looking up and scoff. "You are one sneaky guy," I whisper, shaking my finger up at a God I only recently started believing in. "You almost had me fooled."

Trent looks at me, cautiously, afraid I am about to explode. I won't though… won't explode. I look down to feel… nothing. I am completely numb. From past experiences, I know this is shock taking over. My jaw trembles, and I have the sudden urge to get away from Trent. _Get away!_ My brain screams._ Don't let him see you break down._ _You save your tears for your pillow, you wimp._ I stand, slowly. "I'm sorry. I just…. I'll call you later," I tell him, without turning my head.

"Okay, Max," He mumbles, and I turn to see the smile plastered back on his face.

I swallow hard and jump off the ground, spreading my wings and flying away as fast as I can.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey there beautiful people! I really hope you are all still with me. I know this chapter is long overdue, but in my defense, I did warn you that updates would be slow this week because of basketball and finals! I, in fact, do have a social life also, and there were a few parties that I had to hit up! Pleaseee forgive me? Anyway…. I still don't know what "flaming" is? From that review I asked you guys about? Yeah. It'd be nice to know. On the bright side…. I survived the end of the world today! Whoooo! (insert sarcasm)**

**On with the chapter. PLEASE REVIEW! I'll love you FOREVER, I promise!**

**KarleeRay**

My moods are swinging back and forth in the hour that I return home. One minute I'm hyperventilating, leaning over the toilet as if everything I've ever eaten is going to come rushing out, and the next minute I'm cold, guarded, and completely and utterly numb. My brain can't seem to make sense of anything. Everything seems foreign…. Or maybe it's that everything seems familiar…a little too familiar. Death was always something that we were confronted with back when we were on the run. It was a constant. Thinking that death went away just because the flock wasn't on the run anymore, was a stupid judgment on my part. Regardless, I'm having insane flashbacks… Fang lying on the beach after Ari sliced his side wide open, Ari in the sewer tunnel, neck cork screwed at an awkward angle, constantly swollen eyes, blood, broken bones, punching, kicking, choking, fighting with a rage intense enough to blow anyone away.

I stand in the bathroom, splashing freezing cold water on my face in an attempt to get a grip. _Man up, Max. Death is a part of life. You, of all people, should know that._

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm aware that the others should be home from school in about an hour, but every thought that surfaces in my brain slides out of my grasp before I can examine it.

I walk, mutely, down the hallway to my room, and throw myself face down on my bed. My guards are up, all of my walls stand at attention, trying to protect my fragile emotional state.

Honestly, I have no idea how long I lied there, unmoving, but it must have been awhile because I hear the front door open, and my raptor hearing can make out the sounds of my family's footsteps. There is silence, though, instead of the normal flock chatter. The footsteps I hear are heavy and dragged out. They are the footsteps of people carrying a burden. I know, then, that Trent must have called one of them, worried about me when he should be worried about himself.

I should get up, go greet them, let them know I'm okay….that everything's okay. Though, it almost feels like if I move, I'll shatter, and I can't have that. The need to be strong overcomes me. There's a reason I'm the leader of my flock. I will not break.

Taking refuge in the numb feeling that has clouded over my brain, I stand slowly and march purposefully down the stairs. _I am Maximum Ride. I am invincible. NOTHING can touch me._

Surprisingly, I pull an easy smile out from behind my back and slap it into place, amazing even myself at my ability to hide what I feel. I stride into the kitchen where the flock and Ella are gathered rummaging up something to eat for their after school snack. There had been light conversation, but the moment I step into the room, everything goes silent.

The silence is tense, everyone afraid to say the wrong thing. I stare at them blankly, and then pull out that handy dandy smile of mine.

"Something wrong?" I ask, shrugging my shoulders and brushing past them to the refrigerator. I stick my head inside because I feel my smile faltering. _Take a moment, Max. Deep breaths. You know you can do this. You could lie to anyone._

"Ooooh bacon," I croon, reaching for the package meat. "Ig, you up for cooking?"

I look at him expectantly, watching him hesitate.

"Yes or no?" I snap, losing my patience. Couldn't they all see that I was fine?

"Sure Max," Iggy says slowly and pries the bacon from my clenched fists.

My jaw clenches as I survey the rest of the silent room. "What is with you guys?" I demand, angrily. "God, you act like someone died or something!" I instantly regret my word choice. My mask fails just slightly before I am able to put it back on. However, the smile refuses to return. I'm blank.

I look up to see everyone watching me carefully. Nudge and Ella's eyes water as they gaze at me, while Angel and Gazzy both wear expressions full of sympathy. Iggy has his back turned to me, but his body language is easy for me to read. His muscles are taught, tense. Finally, I turn for one second to meet the eyes of the person whose opinion matters most to me. Fang's expression is completely blank. I search his eyes for some clue as to what he's feeling, but I can find nothing. His clenched jaw is the only clue in that he feels _anything._

"Stop," I say, tightly. "Stop! I'm fine. See? I'm fine!"

None of them look surprised that I snapped at them, and that makes me feel guilty. "So how was everyone's day?" I ask, lightly, smile returning to my lips.

Finally, they seem to understand that what I need is for them to act normal, and I hear a chorus of 'boring's.

"I told him I would beat him up if he doesn't stop messing with Nudge," Gazzy tells me, and if the circumstances were normal I would have cracked up. Instead, I smirk softly at him. "And I will too. I'm not scared of him! I don't care if he's bigger than me, I bet I can fight way better than him…. Plus, he's _human_," Gazzy continues, saying the word as if it has the plague.

"I bet you could too, Gaz," I agree. Now, I know what you're thinking. Bad Max! You shouldn't encourage violence. True, but you see, the problem is that if someone doesn't take care of this kid, then I will have to and well let's face it…. Things will get a lot uglier if I intervene. Plus, why not let Gaz have some fun?

Iggy sets a loaded plate of bacon in front of me, and I instantly dig in. After a few pieces though, reality creeps back up on me, and I feel sick. Pushing the plate away from me, I stand and give everyone a big smile. "I'm tired. I'll be in my room if you need me."

With that, I turn and trudge up to my room, flopping down on my bed. I think I actually did fall asleep for a while… or maybe I was just really out of it…. Either way, the sound of my door opening snaps me back to awareness. I glance up to see Fang shutting the door behind him. Acting on instinct, I sit up and grin. "Hi."

His eyes dart over to me. "Stop. You don't have to do that with me," He snaps. "You don't have to do that with anyone actually, you're just too hard headed to realize it."

I swallow hard as he sits down on the bed beside me. My walls are up, unintentionally….. old habits die hard.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to you," I tell him, sharply.

He merely stares at me before shrugging. "I don't care."

My jaw clenches as I start to get angry. I stand and furiously push him off the bed. "Get out," I growl, pushing him again, hard, right in the chest. He stumbles back a step but otherwise stands his ground.

"Why are you doing this? Just leave!" I snarl, and before I know it I am aiming a punch straight at his chest. "Leave, Fang! I don't want to talk to you!" My hands come up to push him again, but he snatches them midair, holding them to his chest. I struggle against him, wanting him to let me go.

"Max. Stop this," He murmurs, keeping his cool despite my outburst.

I want to. Can't. My body moves at its own accord, taking out pent up aggression.

Finally, though, Fang has enough of being my punching bag. He catches me by the waist and backs me up roughly into the wall. "You know you don't have to hide from me." He says, softly, looking into my eyes. I turn my head away from him, refusing to let him see me break down. Fang roughly reaches out and grabs my chin, forcing me to look back at him. "I'm here," He whispers, simply.

I take a shaky breath, giving up. "I don't want to talk about it."

"We don't have to talk," He murmurs, clutching me into his chest. "We don't have to talk."

I nod weakly into his chest, and he surprises me by picking me up. My legs wrap around his waist, my head on his shoulder. Fang stays there for a while, rocking me like a baby, before walking us over to the bed and lying us down. I instantly curl into him, not realizing how bad I needed him until this moment. He holds me fiercely, as if trying to protect me, and keeps true to his word by saying nothing, which is exactly what I needed.

We stayed there, lying in silence for what seemed like forever. I took to listening to Fang's even breathing, and then was graced with sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

**Another late update, but an update all the same. However, I apologize in advance. This chapter is not up to par. It's a little boring and uneventful, but I felt it was necessary. DO NOT GIVE UP ON ME! Anywho, enjoy and REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

**Oh and MERRY CHRISTMAS, beautiful people!**

**KarleeRay**

"No! It's still my turn," I growl, yanking the remote control out of Trent's hand. He chuckles softly, leaning back in his hospital bed. My fingers move themselves to the correct position on the controls, and my eyes glue back onto Shadow of the Colossus.

"Max you're going the wrong way," Trent whines, and I resist the urge to smack him.

"Am not! Look, the light is pointing that way…" I hold my sword up to prove my point. (A/N: I've been playing this game all day with my boyfriend! It's friggin great and we just had an argument similar to this one I just used in the story!)

Trent snorts, but says nothing, and I smirk in satisfaction when I find the next colossus. Strategizing together, it takes us forty five minutes to defeat the beast.

"Whooo! Yeah!" I yell in victory, jumping off the chair as the colossus falls to the ground.

"Max! What have I told you about the volume level?" I look up to see Christie, one of Trent's nurses, chastising me from the doorway of Trent's hospital room. Her hair is disheveled, her purple scrubs wrinkled from a hard day's work. I had come to know her well since I spent a lot of my time by Trent's side. She shakes her head, exasperated, while I give her a rueful smile.

Trent has been a patient in Relaine Oxford Medical Center for a two weeks now. Getting comfortable here had been a long challenge. First of all, the antiseptic smells have never been my friend. Second of all, seeing Trent all hooked up to different machines was enough to make me run in the other direction. However, I had come to terms with whole thing, deciding that the only thing I could do in this situation was be there for him. I know he doesn't have long, probably only a couple more months. If you look really closely, you can see signs of him deteriorating… the pale skin, purple lips, bald head, shaking fingers. I don't like it, and quite frankly, it scares the piss out of me, but what can you do?

"I think that's enough video games for one day," Christie says, entering the room and pulling the remote control out of my fingers. I don't fight her. It's late, and I'm tired. I should probably head home. Even I will admit that I've been neglecting my family just a tad, but I think (hope) they understand that my heart is in the right place. I've hardly even seen Fang in a whole week. I come home late and leave early in the morning to check on Trent. Fang hasn't complained at all, though I can't help but feel distant.

With my family weighing heavy on my mind, I say my goodbyes to Christie and Trent.

* * *

"I'm home!" I call, setting my backpack down in the foyer. I hear the TV on in the living room and walk in to see pretty much everyone gathered in there together.

"Max!" Nudge exclaims, jumping up off of the ground and wrapping me in a tight hug. I chuckle softly as she releases me. Leaning over the back of the couch, I run my hand through Gazzy's hair and give him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"How was your day, sweetie?" Mom asks, looking up from a home improvement magazine.

I shrug, smiling softly. "Same ole, same ole." My arms wind around Angel, who's lying on the carpet. I pick her up by her thighs, turning her upside down. My lips find their way to the exposed skin of her stomach, and I shower her with kisses, making her squeal.

"Gee, I missed you too, Max," Angel chirps, and I set her down, feeling better now that I was around my flock. I'm on my way to sit in the empty recliner when I feel arms wrap around my waist. I turn to see Fang pulling me onto his lap.

"What? I don't get a proper hello now?" He mutters, huskily so that only I can hear, and I grin, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"How's that?" I ask, teasingly.

"Hmmm. Not quite there," He says, the smallest of smirks playing on the corner of his mouth.

I roll my eyes, leaning in to give him an even longer kiss, completely conscious of my mom who is sitting about three couch cushions down from us. However, Fang doesn't seem to care at all, angling his head to deepen the kiss.

"Keep it rated PG, kiddos," She tells us, without looking up from her magazine. I instantly break away from Fang, slightly embarrassed. The smug look on his face is enough to make me want to hit him.

"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve," Nudge chatters. "It's exciting, really. I can't wait to see what all I get…. Of course, it's not about the presents. I mean, I would be happy just getting to spend Christmas with you guys and like in a house not in a sewer tunnel or like a tree…. But the presents are a nice plus and I-"

"Nudge!" Iggy yells, dramatically throwing his hands over his ears as if he's in actual pain. Nudge looks slightly offended, but quickly shakes it off.

"Does everyone have all of their shopping done?" Mom asks, and we all nod. I had gone out and taken care of everything one day before I went to visit Trent. Ella had been as easy as Nudge… makeup, Cosmo magazines, perfume, and a hot pink Victoria Secret hoodie. Fang, on the other hand, had been a slight challenge. Mostly, I just ambled around the mall trying to find something that spoke to me. After about an hour, finally, something did. I was walking past another regular old jewelry store when something in the display case caught my eye. It was a dog tag necklace. I knew it was perfect the moment I saw it. I got wicked looking black wings engraved into it, and on the back, written very very small in diamonds, it says "Forever". I know, cheesy, right? But I mean it. I want Fang forever, always, no matter what.

* * *

Christmas Eve is hectic to say the least. Apparently, you're supposed to have a big ole five course meal not only Christmas night but the night _before_ Christmas also. I know, weird right? Don't ask me. I'll never understand the ways of the humans.

Anywho, Mom spends the whole day bossing us mere young ones around, telling us to clean and go fetch things from the grocery store. Though, I am not complaining. The fact that I even have a house to clean is enough for me.

By the time everything starts to die down, it's 5 o clock, and Mom and Iggy are hard at work in the kitchen.

I snatch Fang's black hoodie off of the back of the couch and slip it on over my tank top.

"Where are you going?" Mom asks, surprised.

"To see Trent. I have to give him his gift."

Mom's smile falters, and I feel guilt creep up in my stomach. It's Christmas, I know, but Trent needs me, at least for a little while.

"I won't be gone long. Promise," I tell her and walk out the door before she can protest.

I take a running start as soon as I step out the door and then leap into the air, snapping open my wings. The feeling that someone is watching overtakes me, and I turn to see Fang standing in his upstairs window, eyes trained on me as if he expected this all along. I don't know what he's feeling, if he's angry at me for leaving, but I wave anyway, and then go into super speed.

* * *

"Max! What are you doing here?" Trent exclaims, bolting upright in his bed.

I shrug. "Eh, I had nothing better to do."

He grins, and I immediately reciprocate. "You didn't have to do this." He gestures to the wrapped present in my hand.

"It's nothing big… I just… you know," I say, placing the gift in his hands. He smiles, and I try not to notice how much his appearance has changed in the few weeks he's been admitted here.

I pull up a chair, watching his hands tremble as he un-wraps my gift. His face takes on a look of wonder as he pulls out the navy blue Beats by that I got him. They were ridiculously expensive and most would say that the kids going to die soon anyway so it's not worth my money. Well, those people would be Wrong with a capital W. Trent has an obsession with music, always says that music can take any kind of pain away. I figure he's going to be in a lot of pain these next few weeks and anything I can do to ease his pain is worth any amount of money.

Trent is silent, and I begin to ramble, nervously. "Um the guy said they were high quality. I mean, they better be because they were friggin expensive…. If you don't like them, I can always take them back…. You said that music was your escape when I'm not here…. So I figured…."

"Max," Trent cuts me off, grinning. "These are amazing. Seriously. I'm never taking them off."

I sigh in relief, nodding. "I'm glad….." I pause, looking around the empty room. "So where's your fam?"

"Mom's at work. She'll be by later with my sister…. Don't know where my dad is," He replies, turning the Beats over in his hands.

A pang of guilt strikes in my stomach. No one should be alone on Christmas. I sink back in my chair, kicking my feet up and grabbing the play station controller off the bedside desk.

"Max," Trent says and when I completely ignore him, he continues. "Max. Go home."

"Nah."

"I'm serious. Go home. It's Christmas. Go be with your family," He insists, pinning me under his stare.

"I'm not going to leave you all alone," I tell him in my best no-nonsense voice.

"I'm not alone. I have my music now remember?"

I sigh. He's right. My family will be missing me. Standing up, I lean over and kiss him on the forehead. "Merry Christmas, Trent."

"Merry Christmas, Max," He answers. "I don't want to see you back here tomorrow either! I mean it!" He calls after my retreating form. "I'll tell security not to let you in!"

"Yeah, yeah," I mutter, and then walk out the door, anxious to get back to my family.


	30. Chapter 30

**Well hello there you faithful readers you! The new chapter is up and I am in an exceptionally good mood! I'll tell you why too, though you probably don't care! Anyway I was up late last night just watching TV with my best friend and enjoying being lazy for the first time in forever! Well we were sitting there watching some Jersey Shore when it goes to commercial break… and what movie trailer did I see for the very first time you ask? THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS! WHOOOOOO! I friggin love that series and I am seriously psyched for the movie. All I can say is, they better not mess anything up too badly!**

**Anywho, I am really not sure about the quality of this chapter, so please REVIEW and let me know what you think! You guys have seriously been amazing in your reviewing lately so keep it coming! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

**KarleeRay**

"No way! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Nudge cries, jumping all over me while simultaneously trying to pull the Uggs I bought her onto her feet. "They're perfect! Oh I love you! I love you so much!" She plants a big kiss on my cheek, and I can't help but grin.

We had already opened most of our presents, and there are only a few more left under the tree.

"Your turn, Fang," I murmur, smiling softly as I retrieve the present I had gotten him from under the tree.

I watch, tensely, as he carefully tears into the paper and peeks inside the jewelry box. The tiniest of smiles creep onto his face as he extracts the necklace, turning it over to examine it. I know his hawk like vision will pick out the "Forever" engraved into the bottom corner, and I hold my breath for his reaction. His eyes slowly make their way over to me and before I know it, he has dropped the box onto the couch, taken my face into his hands, and brought his lips down onto mine, right there, in front of everyone. There are numerous cheers from the flock members, and I can make out the flashes of a camera going off from behind my closed eyelids.

I break the kiss, grinning up at him. "I take that as a positive response?"

Fang only nods, and then returns to his spot on the floor around the Christmas tree.

"Alright who's left? Angel? This one is yours from… Max," Mom says, reading my messy handwriting on Angel's wrapped present. She places the present in Angel's waiting hands, and my eyes track her every movement, waiting for her reaction. Angel's quick capable fingers tear into the wrapping paper and unfold the flaps of the box. Everyone in the flock instantly goes silent as their eyes land on Celeste, Angel's long lost bear. I had kept my gift a secret, craving this exact moment… this moment of remembrance, to where we were and where we are now.

Angel looks completely shocked, eyes wide with wonder. She pulls the bear out of the box I wrapped it in, turning it this way and that. Finally, she looks up at me, blue eyes boring into mine. She isn't smiling and I'm afraid, for a moment, that my gift had the opposite effect of what I had hoped. Then, I notice the tears, leaking out of the corner of her eyes. Absentmindedly, she clutches the bear to her chest, eyes never leaving mine. "I…. don't… I don't know what to say, Max," Angel manages, before her face crumples. I lurch forward and pull her onto my lap, feeling that motherly instinct to protect.

"You don't have to say anything," I murmur into her hair. I can feel everyone's eyes on mine and Angel's little scene, but I really don't care. This is about me and my baby.

"She's perfect," Angel says, smiling and holding out the bear for both of us to see. "Just like I remember."

I kiss the top of her head, and she climbs out of my lap, making her way over to my mom, whom Angel has a close relationship with. I think Angel sees my mom as her actual mother.

A few more presents go around. Gazzy opens up the ridiculously expensive remote control car he had been drooling over for forever, and Ella opens up her own pair of Uggs that she got from Mom.

Finally, there's only one present left under the tree, and whose is it? If you guessed me, then you would be totally right.

My hands shake slightly as I read the scribbled handwriting on the paper.

_To: Max- From: Fang_

I pull aside the paper and flip open a black jewelry case, eyes widening as I take in its contents. Nestled in the box is the exact same dog tag necklace that I bought Fang. Instead of black wings, there are pure white ones engraved into the fine silver. I turn it over, entranced by its beauty. My eyes laser in on the engraving at the bottom corner. _'Forever'. _

I look up, shocked, stunned, flabbergasted. Fang and I had gotten each other the same exact present. We had always been perfectly in sync, but this….. this was taking it to a whole new level.

I slip the necklace around my neck, admiring it, and then look up at Fang, grinning. "We match," I whisper, gesturing to our necklaces. He gives me a small half smile, brightening the room, before pulling me into a hug.

* * *

"_That_ was delicious, Mom," I say, picking up my empty plate from the table and taking it over to the sink.

"Yeah. That was like the best meal ever…. Or maybe everything just tastes better because it's Christmas, you know? Because Christmas is so great, so everything is so great _on_ Christmas. You think?" Nudge asks, and my mind struggles to follow where she was going with that. Okay, I'll admit. It wasn't that hard to understand, but…. Alright fine, I'm a little distracted. Just a tad.

My eyes swerve to the clock. It's nine now. Visiting hours at the hospital will be ending in thirty minutes. I take a deep breath. _He told you not to come. You need to be with your family on Christmas. _

I drop my face into my hands, frustrated, and I feel Fang's knee bump mine under the table. I look over at him.

"It's okay," He whispers. Figures. He would know exactly what was wrong without me saying anything.

"No… it's really not," I answer, softly, feeling my jaw tighten. Nothing about this was okay. Trent should be at home, spending Christmas with his family. Trent should be happy and cracking jokes like he always does. But most of all, Trent should _not_ be friggin dying, deteriorating in some hellhole of a hospital! Why? Why do bad things happen to good people?!

Suddenly, I can't take it. I stand out of my chair so fast, so angry, that it tips over backwards. I could care less. Ignoring everyone's questions, I march over to the stairs and jog up them to my room. I know I'm going to explode. The need to hit something makes my fingers twitch, and the moment I enter my room, I act on that need. My knuckles smash into the closest wall, leaving nothing but a small dent. Man, these walls were tough ones. Mom probably planned this all out, knowing that mere normal walls wouldn't cut it when you were housing a houseful of mutants.

A frustrated growl leaves my mouth, and I pull my fist back and swing again, harder this time. The skin on my knuckles is shredded, but I hardly feel a thing. I turn, launching a hard kick to my bed, not wanting to seriously damage anything. It was completely unsatisfying, feeling the squishy mattress under my lethal kick.

Not caring about damage anymore, I whirl and snap a hard kick to the wall, hissing in pain as I feel the skin rip off the side of my foot.

I limp around my room for a moment, breathing heavily and trying to calm down. I want to. I can't. I need to. I won't.

My fist, seeming to have grown a mind of its own, slams itself back into the wall. I realize that this gives me a lot of satisfaction, so I just stand there, pummeling the wall with both fists. The pain in my hands is excruciating, but I refuse to stop.

Finally, I tire myself out. I stop, breathing heavily. My eyes stare straight ahead, overlooking the damage I've done.

Suddenly, my legs crumple beneath me and I go to my knees, clutching my ruined hands to my stomach. I can't even attempt to stop the sobs that wrack through my body.

With tears streaming down my face, I look up, needing to see Fang walking through my door. He wasn't.

Carefully, I pick myself up off the floor, stumbling blindly to my door. My vision is completely blurry, my tears like a waterfall. I make my way into the hall and burst through Fang's bedroom door as fast as I can.

Fang looks shocked that I'm allowing him to see me like this. He stays where he is on the bed, stunned.

"I- I just-," I manage before I begin to sob again. That seems to be all it takes for Fang to snap back to reality, and he reaches me in seconds, pulling me into his arms.

"I'm here," He whispers into my ear.

Suddenly, I feel extremely pathetic, and I pull out of his grip. "I'm sorry," I manage through hiccups.

He reaches out, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back to him. "Never be sorry."

* * *

"I just don't get it," I tell Fang as he crouches down in front of me where I'm sitting on the closed toilet seat. His face is grim as he takes my foot into his hand. He holds it over the edge of the bath tub as he douses it with peroxide. I wince, and his eyes flick up to mine.

"That'll teach you," He says simply, before going back to my foot. It's bleeding pretty badly, so he lightly dabs it with a wet wash cloth, trying to stop the bleeding just a tad before trying to stick a bandage on it. His face is completely emotionless as he continues, "You're angry, I know. You have every right to be… but this… This is not okay, Max." Fang gestures to my various self-inflicted wounds.

"I know." My head hangs in defeat.

"You know I wish I could protect you from everything. But I can't protect you from yourself," He says, wrapping gauze around my foot.

"I don't need you to protect me," I counter, immediately.

"I know," He agrees.

There's silence as he finishes bandaging me up. "I won't do it again," I murmur, feeling serious déjà vu to the time on the beach when I tried to cut my chip out.

"I know," He mutters, agreeing with me yet again. He starts to leave but quickly changes his mind, squatting back down in front of me. "You're not alone in this. You know that. So the next time you feel the need to freaking explode like that, you come to me first! I can help you, Max. I can, if you'll just let me! Hell, I'll break into the school and steal a punching bag for you if I have to. I'll let you hit _me,_ if that's what it takes. Just don't hurt yourself because this…. Seeing you do this…."

"What?" I prompt him, softly.

"It kills me," He says, earnestly, black eyes boring holes into mine, and somehow I know he's having the same déjà vu that I am.

"I'm sorry," I reply, helplessly.

He throws me the smallest of smiles before leaning forward and pressing his lips softly to mine.

Fang breaks away quicker than I would have liked, and I sigh. He stands, pulling me to my feet with him and to my delight, he drags me into his room so we can cuddle. Yes. I said _'cuddle'_. Don't make fun. I bet I have a boyfriend cuter than yours, so there.


	31. Chapter 31

**Hello there, my beautiful, amazing, stunning, faithful, great, lovable readers! I have some major sucking up to do! I am so sorry about the long wait for this chapter! I have been busier than I thought I would be over Christmas break! I know some of you even thought I might be giving up on this story! NEVER! If you guys are faithful to me, (by keeping on reviewing), then I'll be faithful to you (by keeping on updating). Until this story is complete, which is not in the near future. I still have more ideas I would love to throw in here. Anyway HAPPY NEW YEAR, beautiful people! This chapter is my new year's gift to you! What's my resolution? I just want to be happy. Anyway, please REVIEW! You guys have been amazing on that! I finally reached 100 reviews! WOOO! So keep it up! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! I'll love you forever!**

**KarleeRay**

"Hey champ," I say, walking into Trent's hospital room after a long day of school. I drop my backpack at the door and pull up a chair to the edge of his bed like I always do. He's lying down, which I've come to know translates that today has not been a good day health wise. "How ya feeling, spud?"

Tired eyes flicker up to mine, and Trent offers a small smile. It's been two months now, and things just keep on getting worse. I should expect it, I know. They told me this would happen, but the Maximum Ride in me refuses to believe there's something that she can't fix.

"You hang in there, okay?" I murmur, patting him comfortingly on the shoulder.

"Doin' my best," He counters. His voice is raspy, tired. His skin isn't even human colored anymore, not really. It's basically purple, so purple that I could reach out and trace every vein on his bald head. His fingers tremble, a constant reminder that a person can only hang on for so long. His lips are always dry and cracked, and the nurses and I do our best to force him to wear chap stick. Trent doesn't like to listen, though. He's a very prideful person. I guess that's something else we have in common.

"Have you eaten?" I ask him as I do every day. Trent doesn't answer me, and I give an impatient huff.

Thankfully, Christie walks through the door. I turn to her, exasperated. "Has he eaten?"

"Yes, Max. I do my job quite well, and starving your own patients is kind of a big no-no," She inquires while checking Trent's vitals.

"Well did it stay down? I mean all of it?" I know. I know. I sound like some overprotective mother, but this is my best friend we're talking about here!

Starting about a month ago, Trent started having issues with keeping his food down. If he ate, you sure as hell could bet your money he was going to throw it right back up. It was just another obstacle in the road. The doctors tried everything really, tube feeding and all. Trent hated that, though, so I told them that option had to go, and they actually listened. For a while, Trent would eat nothing, claiming there was no point. That was when his health really started to slide. Then, by a stroke of luck, they found a medicine that worked, for the most part. There are still some meals that just don't like being in Trent's stomach, but with the medicine and knowing what's compatible with Trent's digestive system, we are doing fairly well with the eating.

"Yes, Max. All of it," Christie mutters, distracted and not willing to deal with me at the moment.

Trent smiles, softly. "Relax, Max. Stop giving her a hard time."

"You shut up," I tell him, kicking my feet up to rest on his bed. "Mind your own business."

To my delight, a small chuckle escapes his lips. Admittedly, it sounds a little more like he's choking, but still. I knew he was laughing, and that's all that matters.

"So, I took your advice and smoothed things over with Carter…"

"Really?" Trent asks, skeptically.

"Yep…it's all good now." Recently, Carter had been acting angry and just downright mean towards me. I told Trent about it, tired of dealing with her when I had so much going on. He, developing some kind of new found inner Doctor Phil, pinpointed exactly what the problem was just by what I had told him. Carter was, simply put, jealous. When I confronted her, she literally yelled at me at the top of her lungs in the school hallway in front of everyone. She told me that I was an awful friend, that I had abandoned her, and that I didn't care about anyone but Trent and my flock. Surprising even myself, I stayed calm during her entire rant, only defending myself when I had to. Trent told me she would blow up on me and not to get too angry at her. So, I waited until she finished before I calmly explained to her why we were not spending as much time together as we used to. I told her that she was still one of my best friends and tried to get her to understand about Trent and my flock. Amazingly, she did. She went from screaming to crying in four minutes. Now, since we hung out after school that day, I assumed everything was okay.

"Wow. I'm proud of you, Max. You're growing up," Trent jokes, and I have to smile. His jokes are rare now, and every joke is music to my ears.

His eyelids begin to droop, and I snort at his refusal to let sleep overtake him. "Go to sleep, Trent." A guilty expression splashes across his features. "What?"

He shakes his head, and I glare at him. "What is it?"

"Could you… stay…. Just for a little while longer…" Trent asks, looking reluctant and even slightly sheepish.

I take his hand. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up." Inwardly, I grimace because I just made a promise and broke one at the same time. I was supposed to be home for movie night with the family, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen. Gah, things are just so complicated.

* * *

I walk in the door to my house at around 10:15. I'm late, way late. Trent had slept for a while longer than usual, and I had stayed even after visiting hours were over. Every minute with Trent, awake and talking, was just precious. I had to cling to him while I could. Plain and simple, Trent didn't have long, and if I had the chance to spend time with him, I would take it.

I trot into the living room, walking in on the very end of Pitch Perfect. I know automatically that Nudge got to pick again. Inwardly, I am cringing, waiting to see how they react to my absence. Nudge, Angel, and Mom all sit on the carpet, watching attentively, while the boys are taking up the recliners and couch. I have to laugh at their bored expressions.

"Look alive, Ig!" I tease, smacking him on the side of the head.

"God-dangit, Max!" He yells, jack knifing into a sitting position. His arm comes out to hit me, but I quickly dodge, making him glare harder in my general direction.

Everyone seems to acknowledge my presence now, and they all chirp their hellos. My eyes roam over the room, landing on Fang who is fast asleep in the recliner.

I instantly feel the need to be close to him, but I quickly shrug it off. It would be wrong to wake him up when he looks so peaceful.

"We were just about to head up to bed, Max…. You're really late. Everything okay with Trent?" Mom asks, looking up from where she was painting Angel's nails. There's just a hint of reprimanding in her voice, she doesn't like me skipping out on family time, and I send her a pleading glance, one that says 'please don't do this'.

"He's fine. Awake and talking, even eating," I tell her, sitting down on the small portion left of the couch and pulling a half-asleep Gasman into my arms. He sighs, contentedly, small hands clutching the fabric of my shirt as he nestles his head into my chest.

"How much longer does he have?" Nudge asks, without thinking, before clapping a hand over her mouth. My jaw tightens for a split second, and I swallow hard before I relax. It's not like she's spitting lies. Trent _is_ going to die, and asking how much longer he has to live is a reasonable question.

"Nudge," Angel chastises lightly, not looking up from her painted nails. Her blue eyes flick to mine to see my reaction.

"Max! I'm sorry. I didn't mean…. I mean uhh maybe there is a donor out there and he won't um… Look, just don't answer that! Just forget I said anything and-," Nudge rambles, frantically trying to make up for what she'd done.

I sigh heavily, pinning her with my stare, and she immediately shuts up, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "Don't cry, sweetie," I tell her, softly. I attempt to comfort her with my eyes since I can't just drop the Gasman, who is now dead asleep on top of me. "You didn't do anything wrong…." I take a deep breath and try to stop my jaw from clenching as I continue. "I don't know how much longer he has… not long probably… which is why I'm always late nowadays. You guys understand. I need to spend time with him while I can, you know?"

Everyone in the room nods but says nothing, each of them sitting with their own private thoughts, which is why I am beyond surprised when Iggy, of all people, pipes up and says, "We're here for you, Max."

For a moment, I can only stare. Comforting me, or anyone for that matter, was not something Iggy normally did, so this was extremely out of character. My lips quirk up into a small smile, and I reach out and grab his hand in thanks. He gives my fingers a small squeeze before returning his hand to his side.

I look around at my family, at the Gasman sleeping in my arms, at Angel and Nudge arguing over which pink would look better on Nudge's skin tone, at Iggy and Ella curled up together on the couch, arms fastened around each other as if the other is their lifeline. And lastly, I look at my boyfriend, dozing softly as only he does, never letting his guard completely down. After years of being on the run, you tend to pick up a few habits. Sometimes, very rarely, I can catch him actually sleeping, as in completely relaxed and peaceful. It's one of my favorite things to see, and the fact that most of those moments that I get to see him like that are when he sleeps with me, just makes it all the better.

I sigh. I don't know what's ahead, what's in store for me throughout my life, but I know that with these guys by my side, I can do anything.

* * *

Sleep refuses to come tonight. I've been lying in bed for hours. I don't bother turning the TV on. I'm really not in the mood, so I just lie there in the darkness staring up at the ceiling.

My eyes flick over to my alarm clock, and I feel my eyes widen in surprise as I realize that it's four in the morning. I groan, sitting up and raking my hands through my fair in frustration.

My eyes dart to the door when I hear a slight noise coming from the hallway. My breath hitches slightly, and I'm just beginning to get out of bed to go check things out when my door opens and a dark shaggy head peaks inside.

I exhale, sharply. "Dude! You scared the crap out of me, you jerk!"

Fang does a double take when he hears my voice, and I know he didn't expect me to be awake. "What the…?"

"You friggin scared the piss out of me!" I reprimand him, but instantly climb out of bed. I grab him by his hands and pull him back towards my bed, happy that now I'll have something to do besides stare at the ceiling.

Fang looks at me, amused, but lets me push him onto my bed and cover us both up in my comforter.

"You know one of the things I love most about you?" He asks, putting his arms around me and playing with my fingers.

"Hmm?"

"You never fail to surprise me. I've known you my whole life and trying to predict you would be impossible…. While we're on the subject… what the heck are you doing awake?" He examines my face, closely. "Wide awake, at that."

"I can't sleep when I'm stressed. You know that," I tell him quietly, breathing in his scent. "But I could ask you the same question. Not only are you awake, but you came down here to my room to do God knows what to me while I'm sleeping."

Fang chuckles softly at my complete exaggeration. "You just wish I was that attracted to you."

"Oh I know you are… I can tell you like it when I do stuff like this," I murmur, kissing his neck. "Or like this." My lips trail up his jaw line. "Or maybe even like this?" I slowly press my lips to his, waiting to see how long he could contain himself.

About 4 seconds later, Fang gives up, speeding up the kiss and slipping his tongue into my mouth. I moan softly. This was the best distraction ever.

Things begin to get extremely heated, so heated that I'm not sure we'll be able to stop until the deed is done. Breathing erratically, I pull away. "Thought you weren't that attracted to me?" I huff.

Fang stares at me, at my half naked body. "I take it back."

I smirk as his eyes roam to dangerous places. "My eyes are up here, Fang," I tell him pointing to my eyes. He gives me a killer half smile, picking up on the fact that I don't think we should go all the way tonight. He pulls me back down onto him, and I curl into his side. "Hey why did you come in here in the first place?"

"To make sure you were okay. I didn't get to see you when you came home today. Sorry about that," He murmurs, playing with a strand of my hair.

"Never be sorry," I tell him, throwing his words back in his face. His grip tightens on me, and I feel him plant a kiss to my forehead.


	32. Chapter 32

**Okay dear faithful readers! Here is your new chapter! I would just like to take a time out and say thank you to all of you who are reviewing! You guys are freaking amazing! I'm pretty sure I got like twelve reviews on the last chapter, and that is just the most awesome thing ever! I love you all so much! Anyway…. I think that's all! Please REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think on how I portrayed the characters' emotions. I wasn't sure if I was as spot on as I would like to be. PLEASE NOTE THIS CHAPTER IS IN FANG POV!**

**KarleeRay**

* * *

_**Fang POV **_

_**Three Weeks Later**_

I woke up that morning with a sinking feeling in my stomach. My hands splayed the sheets beside me, searching for the warmth of a body that wasn't there.

Ignoring my paranoia, I sat up, blinking around my room. My body felt hot and sweaty as I slipped out from under my sheets and headed down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Hey Fang," Iggy muttered, storming into the bathroom while I doused my face in cold water. "I gotta take a piss. Hope this doesn't make you uncomfortable."

I shook my head, and then turned in surprise when Gazzy bursted inside the bathroom.

"Well let's just have a party," I said sarcastically, roughly shoving my tooth brush into my mouth.

"Dang," Gazzy yelped, holding a hand to his pants. "I gotta go bad!" He turned, scampering down the hallway to the other bathroom.

* * *

A mere thirty minutes later, I'm seated at the kitchen table, stuffing bacon and eggs into my mouth. I would never take the new availability that we have to food for granted.

That sinking feeling I had in my stomach lessoned slightly as my appetite started to fade.

"Ella's acting weird, man. Real weird," Iggy told me, trying not to spray me with his chewed up food.

"What did you do?" I asked him, knowing that with Iggy there was always a little more to the story. His sightless eyes send me a quick glare, and he was just about to answer me when we were joined at the table by Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, and Ella. Iggy immediately shut up, throwing all his attention back to the loaded plate of food in front of him.

That feeling in my stomach came back full-fledged. My fists came up to rub my eyes. Something just did not feel right.

I looked up to see Angel, pinning me with her stare. I shook my head at her, a warning to stay out of my head. _What do you think it is, Fang? _

I sighed, exasperated, as her voice filtered into my head. _Probably nothing. Stay out of my head, sweetie._

She shrugged her tiny shoulders, picking up her fork and beginning to shovel eggs into her mouth at full speed. She had eaten more in five minutes than a grown man could eat in one sitting.

My head snapped up when Max entered the kitchen, my eyes latching onto her form. My black sweatpants hung low on her slender hips, and she was sporting an oversized white t-shirt. One look at her told me she was stressed and had endured a rough night. Tired brown eyes flickered to mine, and I subconsciously noted the dark shadows lingering underneath them. A frown sat on her lips, and the tiny lines on her forehead told me she was thinking hard about something.

I watched as she walked right past the line of food on the bar and came to sit down next to me.

"You should eat," I told her on instinct. Max didn't answer, just sent me a quick glance before beginning to chew on her fingernails. Her foot tapped impatiently under the table, eyes cast far away to a place no one but her could see.

My hand came up, absentmindedly rubbing circles into the small of her back. She stayed quiet, slumping forward and putting her head on the table.

"What's wrong, Max?" Nudge asked, sounding worried and confused. I shook my head at her, telling her not to pursue it if Max didn't answer, and unsurprisingly, she didn't.

My own head came down, level with Max's, and I turned into her, putting my nose into her hair, just to remind her that I was there if she needed me.

The shrill sound of the house phone ringing broke off all conversation at the table. Max didn't even flinch, remaining completely immobile with her head practically glued to the table.

"I'll get it," Doctor Martinez called, breezing into the kitchen. She sent us all a warm smile before picking up the phone. "Yes this is she…." The smile dropped almost immediately after. Her dark brown eyes flickered over to Max for just a fleeting second, and I think I was the only one who even spotted it. My stomach twisted harshly, but I skillfully ignored it, not wanting to jump to conclusions. "Ummm yes, just one moment," Doctor M told the person on the other line as she quietly swept out of ear shot and into another room.

Conversation at the table picked up almost immediately. "So, I'm thinking maybe I'll try out for cheerleader next year. I'll be a freshman so I'll be eligible for the high school team. Will you do it with me, Ells? Please! Please! Please!" Nudge squealed, going on and on in her begging.

"I don't know. Do you think I'd make it? I don't think I'm perky enough. I may be into fashion and most girly stuff, but I'm not you, Nudge," Ella replied, scraping the leftovers from her plate onto Iggy's.

Doctor Martinez hung up the phone when she re-entered the kitchen, visibly upset, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Her mouth had just opened to relay some kind of news when Max's head snapped up from the table.

Tears traveled down her cheeks, and my heart seized up like it always does at that sight. "Don't!" She snapped, standing up roughly and pointing a shaking finger at her mother. "Don't tell me that!"

"Max," Doctor M started soothingly, tears flowing more heavily at the sight of her tormented daughter.

"No. No. No! I don't want to hear it!" Max snarled, pushing her way out from behind the table.

It clicked for me then, and I knew, just as Max had.

"I'm so sorry," Doctor M said, voice cracking.

Max bit her lip, so hard that blood began to trickle down her chin. "Max," I chastised before I could stop myself. I stood up, having no idea what to do or say, watching the one person I loved most in this entire world lose a battle she was destined to lose from the start.

I watched her as she began to furiously pace the kitchen floor, hands raking through her hair before she changed her mind and raked them down her face, leaving small trails of blood. I couldn't stop myself from surging towards her, but she quickly jumped back. "Don't touch me, Fang," She warned, venom leaking from her words.

The kitchen fell silent, the only sound being Max's erratic breathing and scuffled footsteps against the wood floor. My eyes flickered over to the table where the rest of my family was still seated. None of them looked confused. Some were crying and some were stone faced, but it was obvious they had caught on.

With a strangled moan, Max fell to her knees, bending forward with her eyes squeezed shut. She became an immobile statue, and there was nothing anyone could do except watch while the girl everyone thought was unbreakable, finally broke.

This went on for at least five minutes. The silence was stifling. Nudge had broken down halfway through, letting out a sob and quickly making Ella and Angel follow suit. It wasn't that they were crying about Trent, not entirely though that probably was some of it. They hadn't known him too well. They were crying for their sister, for the pain they knew she was enduring and for the struggle that the weeks ahead would bring her. Max had flinched slightly at the sound of crying, but otherwise remained in her exact position.

I flicked my eyes towards Doctor M, who quietly walked over to me. "I'm her mother, yes," She whispered, almost silently, into my ear. "But I'm not the one she'll want right now." She pulled back, eyes glistening, and looking me in the eyes, she nodded.

Cautiously, I looked over at Max. I knew that if I was going to get to her, I had to advance quickly or she would have time to either yell at me to stay away or get up and move away, possibly hurting me physically in the process.

My feet moved before I was ready, and I quickly glided across the floor and dropped down next to Max, wrapping her in a stone hug. Instantly, she began to writhe, trying to shove me off her. She struggled harshly, and she almost got out of my grasp once or twice.

"Max. Max," I whispered, and she instantly stilled at the sound of my voice. She flung her head back, letting it hang there. Her breathing sounded strained, and I had to ignore the pang of worry for her own health that was sent through me.

"I can't," She whispered, eyes squeezed shut.

"You don't have to," I murmured back to her, and at that, a violent sob escaped her perfect lips, racking her entire body. She turned in my arms, hands frantically clutching at the fabric of my shirt. Seeing her that messed up about something… I can't even explain it. It killed me.

I held her as tightly as I possibly could, trying to calm the racking of her body. She cried so hard that I feared she would make herself sick, and finally, she did. I tied her hair up in a rubber pony tail holder as she heaved and vomited into the sink.

I carried her bridal style up the stairs a few hours later, feeling for the first time in a really long time, afraid. Afraid of losing the girl I love, afraid that she was going to retreat back into herself like she did when she felt she had nowhere else to hide. I stopped in front of her bedroom door but quickly changed my mind, walking down the hall to my own bedroom. I laid her gently down on my bed, staring down at her. She hadn't uttered a single word since she found out the news. She was shutting down. I could practically see it.

Which is why I was beyond surprised to hear her voice as I turned to walk out the door, going to get her some food that I was hoping I could force feed her.

"Do you think there's a Heaven and a Hell?" Her voice was rusty and hoarse, but to me, it was a sign of hope. It was a sign that maybe, just maybe, she was going to reach out to me instead of shut down.

I turned, going to sit back beside her on the bed. A frown came onto my face as I considered her question. She stared up at me, blankly, not a single emotion on her face. "I think so," I said, finally.

Max merely shifted her eyes from my face to stare at the wall. I waited. "Do you think Trent went to Heaven?"

My heart literally felt like it was breaking. I hadn't felt emotion so raw and hurtful in such a long time, and we all know how great I am with emotion. "Trent…. If Trent didn't get to Heaven, then no one will."

Max nodded mutely. She surprised me when after a moment, she sat up. "Do you think…. I mean do you think he was happy? Do you think he suffered a lot? I tried to… to make him happy by visiting him, but I don't think he was ready to die. I don't think I helped at all," She confessed to me, words that shredded my heart.

"I _know_ that you helped. You made him smile like no one else could. Remember when I went with you to visit him that one day, but I wanted stay in the waiting room and give you your time with him? Well, I watched from the window. Did you not see his face? He lit up, Max. He loved you, and you were there for him, every day, taking time out of your life for him. And I think, that anyone lucky enough to meet you, would die a happy man," I told her, letting the words flow freely from my heart… a rare occurrence, and I meant them, every single word.

Max's face started to crumple, her chest hiccupping. "I didn't even…. Get to say goodbye," She choked out, before bursting back into tears.

I pulled her tightly to me, the only thing I could do, and my heart felt heavy at the thought that this day would forever be remembered as the day that my Max lost her best friend.

* * *

**I understand that a lot of people did not want this to happen, and some people even told me that if Trent died then they would stop reading. I hate to lose readers because I love you all so much, but I felt that this was what needed to happen, and this was part of my plan. So I'm sorry I let you down to those who will no longer be reading this story! Anyway, please REVIEW!**

**KarleeRay**


	33. Chapter 33

**You know what they say…. Better late than never! Here is the next chapter. _WARNING:_ It is a little dark and a little boring and a little poorly written. Pleaaaaase review! I'm worried that I might be getting slightly off track with this story, so let me know if you all are still enjoying it! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! And let me know your thoughts on this chapter. You guys were completely amazing on the last chapter. I think there were at least 16 reviews. That is so great, so keep it up! REVIEW!**

**KarleeRay**

The feelings churning around inside of me are indescribable, but I'll do my best. It feels kind of like drowning. Breathing is a no-no. It doesn't work, and if you try to take a big deep breath to calm yourself, you'll only end up spluttering and gagging, worse off than when you started. Flailing around and trying to surface is impossible. The only thing you can really do is stop, stop moving, stop breathing, stop trying, stop feeling.

That is what I've done this past week. I tried, I mean really tried, to open up, to keep Fang close, but that only ended up in more tears and heartache. I shut down, commanded myself to stop feeling so deeply before it killed me. I'd like to say that I've come a long way as a person over the years, but deep down, I am who I've always been. I'd love to say I am Max Martinez, but I'm not. I am Maximum Ride. Jeb's mantra does not stop ringing in my head. Emotion is weakness, and weak, I am not.

My family is worried. I know. They should be. I don't know how to resurface, how to bring down the mask that seems molded onto my face.

Fang reaches for my hand from the seat next to mine in the van, but I move it away at the last second. My eyes trail to the ground because I cannot bear to see his reaction again. I didn't mean to do it. There's nothing I would love more than to feel the comfort of the boy that I love as I ride to my best friend's funeral, but I know that having someone coddle me and tell me that everything will be okay will only break me. I can't have that. Not again.

My eyes close, and I take a moment to gather myself as we pull into the parking lot of the funeral home. When I open them again, I stare blankly out the window, eyes taking in the steady stream of black filtering in the front door. I see familiar faces everywhere, people from my school, Trent's family members. I don't want to see them, don't want to hear them say goodbye to Trent. After the next two hours are up, there will be no more pretending that nothing happened. We are gathered here today to face the cold truth of reality. Trent is gone, and he is not coming back.

With dry eyes and a stiff upper lip, I kick open the door to the van and step out, waiting for the rest of my family to pile out behind me. Carter spots me immediately from way across the parking lot, and she sets out on a steady jog over to me.

"Max!" She's crying already, and my chin wobbles just slightly. "Are you okay? I haven't talked to you in a week!"

I swallow, staring blankly at her. More tears pile into her eyes, and she attempts a sympathetic smile that wavers at the corners. "It's okay, babe." She reaches out, touches my arm. "I know."

"Let's just go in," I mutter, and she nods, turning to walk alongside me as we head in the front door. There are clusters of people everywhere, giving condolences, reminiscing, and crying for the boy who will never know what it's like to fall in love, to get married, to have kids…. For the boy who will never know what it's like to grow up.

_Keep it together, Max. Deep breaths. _

"Everyone! If you could please get seated in the main room, the family is ready to start!" I look up to see Pastor Lionel standing in the entree way to the main room, ushering people inside and into the pews. I swipe a hand across my mouth, really struggling to stay in check. Breathing suddenly becomes something I have to concentrate on.

I look down, startled when a tiny cold hand clasps around mine. Angel. I give her the tiniest of smiles, noticing the tears forming in her blue eyes. I know that the tears are for me, because she knows exactly what I feel.

Leaning down, I scoop her up and onto my hip, holding her like I did when she was just a tiny little thing. "Don't you cry too, Ange," I whisper softly.

My mom leads the way to a pew near the front, and our big ole family takes up the whole thing. I strategically sit next to Fang. I'm praying that I can keep myself in check, but if I can't then I know who I'll want by my side.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Trent Mathew Burks. May his soul rest in peace." The Pastor hangs his head for a moment, and I remember that he had a personal connection to Trent. He actually knew him, and his show of grief was genuine. I watch silently as he turns to the family, sitting tensely in a group of pews closest to the front. "One can only imagine what you all must be feeling. Trent was an exceptional person, touching many lives with his jokes and happiness. He is so very deserving of your grief. They say that time heals all and perhaps it does, but for now just take refuge in the fact that each and every one of us in here is praying for you and that Trent is in a better place. Now, a few words from Trent's mother."

My eyes travel along with everyone else's to Isabelle Burks, who is making her way up to the podium. She presses a tissue to her eyes, and takes a moment to gather herself before she speaks. "Thank you all for coming. I know Trent would have been delighted to see this big of a crowd. In fact, I bet he's cracking a joke about his own popularity right now." Hollow chuckles ring out through the crowd. Even Isabelle gives a tiny laugh, casting her eyes upwards as if expecting to see her son's face looking down from Heaven. "Trent struggled with his leukemia for his entire life. He was nothing if not a fighter, but even the best fall down sometimes. His smile could light up any room, and I don't know how I am going to manage the rest of my life without seeing one of those." She stops speaking for a moment and turns away, her body shaking with silent sobs. "He was such a genuinely good person, loved by so many, and I think that he left this world happy. Every day for the past six months, he came home talking about his new best friend." I swipe a hand through my hair, my mouth quivering as Isabelle's eyes laser in on me. "I have to thank you, Max. For being there when I couldn't. He really loved you, child." I nod my acknowledgment, and she gives me a tiny smile. "No mother should have to live without their baby. This is not the way it is supposed to be. Mother and father should go first. I guess God just could not wait to have such a good person up by his side. January 21, 2013 will go down in my book as the day that God called my boy home. I love you, babe." She walks stiffly past the open casket, past the body of her son, and back to her seat. Gritting my teeth, I lean forward in my chair and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to shut out everything around me.

After a few moments, I hear the clear sound of Victoria's voice and look up. "This is not easy. This is probably the hardest thing I will ever have to do. I never expected to have to say goodbye to my brother so quickly. I stand before you today, strong, because this is what Trent would have expected of me. I can't see you, but I can feel you, bro." She stops, looking around the room, eyes glistening. "More than ever, and I know that you may be gone in body, but you will forever remain in spirit. You once told me that you would never abandon me, and I know you will keep that promise. I miss you, little brother. I'll miss you every day for the rest of my life. You fought your whole life. Now you get to rest….. This is not goodbye." I know there is more to her speech. She rehearsed it in front of me a few days back. However, I watch as Victoria turns away from the podium, body quaking with emotion.

The pastor takes back over, says a quick prayer, and then turns on the projector. _Dancing with the Angels_ plays softly in the background as a slideshow of Trent's life rolls across the screen. There are baby pictures, family pictures, sports pictures, pictures of Trent in the hospital as a child. But then the pictures get recent. There are tons of pictures of him and me, pictures of us wrestling, arguing, and laughing, pictures I didn't even know were taken. I keep my eyes mostly averted until the music fades out, and I hear my laugh ring out through the room. My head snaps up to see a video playing on the screen.

"It's loaded right?" I ask Victoria, who is videotaping in the video.

"Yeah. You just have to pull the trigger," Victoria says from behind the camera. A devilish smile lights my face as my hands roam over the paintball gun.

I turn and look directly into the camera. "This is what payback looks like."

The video follows me down the hallway in Trent's house, and I stop right in front of the bathroom. "Now?" I mouth, before swiftly kicking in the door. Trent is in the shower and has the curtain up, but that doesn't stop me. I rip it aside and open fire on Trent. In the video, Trent's, uhh, private parts are blurred out, but the ones who were there in person didn't get so lucky.

I actually laugh out loud along with the rest of the crowd at the look on Trent's face. He curses which is also bleeped out. "Max! God-dangit! Stop!" I hadn't stopped, but rather kept on shooting before he did something that really surprised me. He charged, coming at me fully naked. That was enough to make me turn and run but he had a head start and caught me easily, picking me up and twirling me around. "EWWWW! EWW!" I screech and struggle hard before he releases me. Victoria's shrill laugh rings out from behind the camera.

"That was priceless!" She yells, gasping for breath. The video stops as I get up and glare at her.

The chuckles in the room continue even after the video ends, and I find myself smiling slightly.

* * *

The funeral ends about an hour later, and we solemnly head home. There is no laughing now, not after seeing the open casket and watching them lower Trent into the ground. My heart aches. I miss my best friend.

I walk on dead legs into the house, not really paying attention to anything and make my way up to my room so I can finally let out the painful lump that has been in my throat for the last two hours. I didn't cry at Trent's funeral. I didn't break down, only a few tears escaped at the open casket when I realized that was the last time I would ever see him. The paleness of his skin, the lifelessness, will forever haunt me.

I change my mind and go into the bathroom instead, scorching my skin with hot water and letting it drown out the noises of my sobs. I just need to forget. I need one moment to forget. I'm drowning. I need to be revived…. And there's only one person who could possibly help me do that.

Before I can change my mind, I wrap myself in a towel and march purposefully down the hall to Fang's door. I enter without knocking, and Fang looks up in shock. He's standing in front of his closet, shedding his suit jacket.

I swallow hard and go over to his bed, lying down. He studies me for a moment before coming to sit down on the bed beside me.

"Max I-" He starts, but I cut him off, covering his mouth with my own. He reciprocates without thinking. We hadn't kissed in about two weeks, and I knew he missed this. My lips are hungry, my tongue sharply jabbing into his mouth, searching for an escape from my sorrow.

My hands move quickly to his shirt, unbuttoning it. Fang reluctantly pulls away, concern lacing his features. "Max… I don't understand…"

"You don't have to," I mutter before pouncing on him again. He can't resist me. His lips trail over my mouth, and I shiver as his tongue comes out and slowly traces my bottom lip.

I have him distracted, and I use that to my advantage, ripping his shirt off his body.

Again he pulls back, and I pout. "Just explain," He pleads with me.

I swallow. "I just need to forget… Please. Just make me forget. Just for a little while."

His expression flashes with sympathy, and I know I've got him. He can't say no to me.

I drop my towel, allowing Fang to see all of me. His mouth roams to dangerous places, making thoughts of Trent disappear. All I know is Fang.

After a few minutes, my hands reach for his belt loops, and he immediately complies, shedding his jeans and boxers.

His eyes ask me a question, and I immediately answer with a yes as Fang does what I asked him to.

He made me forget.


	34. Chapter 34

**Hello there, readers! It has been about a week since I updated and I sincerely apologize! This chapter is a little on the longer side, just a warning. Ummm I've been getting some mixed reviews and messages… but everything is appreciated! Even your criticism! So keep it up! It's great! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a tad jumpy, and I apologize for that. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Let me know your honest opinions! Enjoy and review!**

**KarleeRay**

Surprisingly, I wake with a slight smile on my face, fingertips tracing over my bare skin in remembrance of last night. Thoughts of Fang whirl around my head. I reach for him in the bed beside me, wanting to thank him for being there last night, but I am immediately clued in on his absence.

I blink groggily around his room, slipping out of the bed and slinking over to his closet where I pull on one of his black t shirts and a pair of his sweats.

Hands fisted in my pockets, I walk down the hall and into the bathroom, pleasantly surprised at what I see in the mirror. I look refreshed, like a weight has been lifted.

Thoughts of Trent rush at me from every angle, and I feel a little guilty, but it wasn't that I was over Trent's death, not at all. It was just that seeing him laid to rest gave me that sense of finality. Trent isn't coming back, no matter how much I mope around and wish that he was. The fact is, life goes on, and I am choosing to live it. True, I will miss that boy like crazy. True, I am a little embarrassed over the way I have acted since he passed on. I should have been prepared. The old Maximum Ride would never have wallowed in self-pity the way that I had, and I was determined to get her back, to relight that inner fire. And true, I am probably emotionally unstable at the moment. That's not going to stop me though. I have a family who needs me. Besides, now that I have a clearer head, I swear I can almost see Trent looking down on me in disappointment.

I take the stairs two at a time, my stomach rumbling impatiently.

"Mom I—" I start as I walk into the kitchen, but then stop short when I see that no one is in there except for Fang. He's seated at the bar, head dropped in his hands, closed fists rubbing at his eyes.

I smile. "Hey you…" I wrap my arms around him from behind, but he immediately recoils from my touch like I'm poisonous, wriggling free of my grasp. "Woah… Tha hell?"

He sighs in response but doesn't open his eyes.

My brow furrows in confusion, but I quickly let it go. Grumpy pants.

"Fine. I'll fend for myself this morning," I tell him, opening the fridge and searching for anything that I couldn't completely destroy. Cereal it is.

I grab a bowl, the milk, and the box of Captain Crunch and plop down beside Fang at the bar. I eat in silence, studying him, reading him the way I had been doing my entire life.

Finally, I get tired of the silence. "You wanna tell me who pissed in your cheerios?" I ask around a mouthful of food, seeing no reason to use manners around Fang.

He shows no sign that I even said anything. His body remains in the exact same position. He doesn't even flinch.

I set my spoon down, let out a burp, and fix him with an annoyed glare. Almost as if he can sense my stare, his eyes flicker up to look at me and then quickly close again. His fists come up, rubbing at his eyes, and he angrily jerks out of his chair, beginning to pace.

"I can't even look at you," He mutters.

I recoil, hurt and a little angry.

"What? Would you care to use your words like a normal person, Fang?" I snap, standing also, hands on my hips.

He stops pacing and carefully turns to look at me. "How mad are you?"

Mad? Should I be mad? Did I miss something? "What are you talking about?" I demand, annoyed.

He runs a hand over his mouth before exploding at me. "I completely took advantage of you last night! You were in no condition to…. To be doing that, but I did it anyway. Selfish! I don't know what I was thinking!" He stops, taking a deep breath, his jaw flexing.

Okay, I'm not going to lie. Not at all what I expected. He's not even angry with me. He's angry with himself. But that's not fair. I initiated everything that happened last night. "Took advantage of me? Have you forgotten who you're talking to?"

"You were not Maximum Ride last night, and you know it," He counters, daring me to argue with that statement.

"I'm always Max. And I hate to break it you Fang, but you couldn't take advantage of me even if you wanted to. I could still kick your ass in a fight. Don't be stupid. If I had wanted you to stop, I would have _made_ you stop," I tell him earnestly, meaning every word that I said.

I watch him hop up onto the counter, letting his head loll back to stare at the ceiling.

Seeing that he's still bothered, I advance towards him, coming to stand between his legs. I reach for his hands, but he retracts them. "Stop," I murmur, placing my hands on his thighs. He trembles slightly under my touch, but remains composed. "Please stop." I reach for his hands again, and he lets me have them. My lips find their way to his scarred knuckles, pressing tiny kisses over them as if I could take away all the pain those scars caused.

I smirk as I lean in to kiss his neck, surprised when he doesn't push me away for taking it too far. "I, for one, loved last night," I murmur into his skin.

Fang grabs my hair from the back, pulling me off his neck so that he can look me in the eyes. He studies me closely, and I try to be as open as possible. "You mean that?"

The corners of my lips tug upward. "Yes."

Fang relaxes visibly, and I feel a swell of pride. I am one kick ass girlfriend. Fang is so lucky.

* * *

_**Two Months Later**_

"Carter!" I call loudly across the mass of student body standing in my way. I watch as Carter does a 180, having heard my voice but not being able to find my body. I work my way up to her. "Austin is looking everywhere for you, Miss Thang."

She raises her chin. "I don't want to talk to him. He can keep on looking for all I care."

I smile at her stubbornness, so much like my own. "Whatever. Be bullheaded. I'm just sick of hearing both you whine," I tell her, and she calls me a nasty word under her breath, which only makes me smile wider.

"Let's just go to lunch," She mutters with a toss of her jet black hair.

"I'll meet you in there. I have to go turn in this paper or I'll get a zero on it." I turn away from her, going against the traffic of students all trying to hurry and get a spot at the front of the lunch line. "Excuse me! Move! Sorry!"

Finally, I make it to the hall I am looking for, leaving the noise of the main hall behind me. I hustle down to Mr. Perkin's room, drop my paper in the turn-in basket, and begin to head back to the lunch room, my stomach rumbling impatiently.

The faint sound of someone playing a guitar makes me stop and listen. I know that beat. Without thinking, I turn on my heel and march back to the music room. There's a boy sitting on the floor in the front of the empty room, a beautiful guitar lying in his lap. I take in his ash blonde hair, tan skin, and quick capable fingers and decide that he's attractive in an interesting, artistic kind of way.

"Hey, is that Pumped Up Kicks?" I ask, my brain having lost all filter. The guy looks up, startled at my presence.

He sizes me up for a moment. "Thought I was alone."

I ignore his comment, entering the room. "You're really good."

Gray eyes latch onto mine. He doesn't smile, doesn't thank me for my compliment. He simply stares at me, as if trying to figure me all out.

"So I've been told," He says finally.

"Aah. Cocky one, are you?" I counter, propping myself up on top of a desk.

"I like to refer to it as seeing things for what they really are. I'm good, and I know it."

I shrug. "Nothing wrong with that, I guess. You know what they say… If you got it, flaunt it."

"Exactly," He agrees, before going back to playing. My eyes latch onto his fingers, watching them expertly work the strings on the guitar. They never falter, never slip up. His confidence is not misplaced. "Are you just going to sit there and watch? I came here to be alone," He snaps.

"Shouldn't you be in lunch?" I ask him, ignoring his hint.

"Not hungry."

"I'm Max," I offer. "Max Ride…. And you are?"

This stops him. He appraises me again, looking at me in a new light. "So you're the big shot Maximum Ride… I've heard a lot about you."

I sigh heavily, annoyed.

"Don't be dramatic. It must be so hard having everyone hold you in the spotlight," He sneers, tuning his guitar.

My temper flares just a tad. "It's not as easy as it may sound. You don't know me. Don't act like you have me all figured out."

He says nothing, just stands and sets his guitar against the wall. "I'm Kace."

"Cool name," I comment, without thinking.

"Sure," He replies, turning to head out the door. I watch his retreating figure, noticing something not quite right under his button down shirt. I'd mistake it for excellent muscle tone if I hadn't been familiar with that exact "not quite right" shape my entire life.

"So I tell you I'm Maximum Ride, and you don't think to mention that you have wings?" I call after him.

He freezes, before turning to look at me. "If I don't mention them, maybe I'll forget they're there."

I desperately want to know what he means by that, but by the time I open my mouth to ask, he's already turning the corner.

* * *

I skip basketball practice after school, instead taking off on my wings and heading into town. I touch down right outside a little shop I've come to know has the most beautiful flowers you've ever seen.

I pull in my wings as I walk in the door and head to the back.

"These are really in right now," a woman tells me, pointing to a bouquet of beautiful blue flowers. They're breathtaking, really, but not exactly what I'm looking for.

My eyes roam over the rainbow of flowers in front of me until they land on a small bouquet of red roses. Simple, yes, but they spoke to me.

A smile graces my face as I pay for the roses in cash, and then head outside.

I walk to the cemetery, not in a hurry. My thoughts carry me to Trent, and I let them linger there. My memories are bittersweet. Tears threaten, yet there is a smile of remembrance on my face.

I push open the gates of the cemetery and trudge up the hill until I come to the exact grave I visit when I'm missing my best friend just a little too much.

"Brought you something," I whisper as I lie the roses down beside the headstone. I sit down cross legged on the ground and pull my hoodie on over my tank top. "I went to see your family last week. They're doing okay. They miss you like crazy though. We all do…. But you already knew that didn't you ?" I tease, smiling lightly to myself. I take a deep breath and allow myself some peace and quiet with Trent. I swear I can almost feel him, hear him laugh and make jokes. This is where I feel the closest to him, and this is where I will continue to come.

* * *

"You look stunning, sweetie," I tell Nudge who is surveying herself in my mirror. Her hair hangs perfectly straight, and her face is literally glowing. She does a 360 for me, making her simple white dress billow out around her.

"You think so?" She asks me, looking hopeful.

I smile and to my absolute dismay my eyes start to burn. My little Nudge is growing up. I nod and open my arms. She comes into them eagerly, nestling into my chest. "I know this is hard for you, Max. But I'll be fine. You know it, and I know it."

"You're right," I sigh, pulling back to look at her. "You nervous?"

Her face takes on an anxious look. "Very….. what if he tries to kiss me?"

My protective instinct kicks in, screaming at me to tell her that if that boy tries to kiss her, to punch him directly in his pretty little face. Instead, I remind myself that Nudge is 13, and I'm not her mother right now. Right now, I'm her sister and her best friend. So I steal what the voice once told me when I had my first real kiss. "Just go with the flow, baby girl."

Nudge beams at me. "What if I mess up though? What if it's nasty and tongue-y and slobbery?"

"You won't mess up. It's natural, Nudge. Don't even think about it. And, if it's with the right person, _nasty_ is the very last thing it will be."

She swallows and pulls me back into a tight hug, not letting go until the doorbell breaks us apart. I laugh at her nervous expression. "Go get him, Tiger." I press a kiss to her forehead and watch as she leaves to go on her first real date.

* * *

And at 11:21 PM, Fang and I creep to my window and watch as Jett walks Nudge to the front door. Fang stands rigidly beside me, and I know he's feeling protective. Me? Surprisingly, I just feel happy for her.

They stop on the front steps, and I hold my breath as Jett leans in and Nudge meets him halfway. I should look away, let her have this private moment, but I can't. My eyes are lasered in on them as they tilt their heads this way and that, pulling each other closer. There is no hunger in their kiss, just exploration and affection, sweet and innocent, just as it should be.

"Okay I think that's enough," Fang mutters, impatiently, and I laugh, pulling him away from the window.

"Let them be."

"Distract me?" He asks hopefully, and I am happy to oblige. I press my lips to his, pushing him back onto the bed. Unlike Nudge and Jett, our kiss is not filled with exploration and affection. Our kiss is filled with passion and love and hunger. It's beautiful, and mature, and I will never get enough.


	35. Chapter 35

**New chapter is UP! FINALLLLY! Long overdue, I know! I hope you all are still with me! I'm sorry! Basketball season is almost over, and I should have more free time after that… It has been quite the week and the, um, excitement did not stop today… My school was evacuated due to a fugitive on the loose! Talk about scary ishh! Our country is in trouble, like legit. People are insane. Anywho…. The reviews were great on the last chapter. Keep them coming. I love you all and hope this chapter is up to par. _REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!_ And let me know your honest thoughts. Anything is appreciated, positive or negative.**

**KarleeRay**

"Stop it, Fang," I chastise, swatting him off of my neck. "We have to finish this." My eyes roll as he dutifully ignores me, trailing kisses across my neck and shoulder. _Gah, teenage boys and their raging hormones._

"Can't we take a break?" He mutters, annoyed.

"If you don't stop whining, then I'm going to give you something to whine about," I tell him calmly, my eyes never leaving the open textbook in front of me.

A groan escapes his lips, and I resist the urge to slap him. "Go," I order. "I'll do it myself. You're not doing anything but distracting me."

"Okay. Fine. Hands off." His hands come up in surrender, and he scoots away from me on the bed. "Happy?"

Hah. Happy? Not at all. We've been working on this project for hours now. Really the only thing that could make me happy at this point is a mountain of food and the boy I just demanded to get away from me. Great job, Max.

I'm busy chewing furiously on the tip of my pencil when the shrill sound of the doorbell ringing echoes throughout the house.

"Aah. Look at that. Saved by the bell," I sing-song, scampering out of bed and down the stairs to get to the door. I hear Fang ambling down the stairs behind me as I fling open the door to welcome whoever is waiting.

Hair mussed, make-up smeared, and clothes rumpled, Carter stands shakily before me.

"Max!" She slurs. "I knew you'd help me!" She falls forward, flinging her arms around my neck. I grunt in surprise under her dead weight.

My hand comes up, and I pull her back by her hair so that I can look her in the eye, sensing that something is off. I'm about to begin interrogation, when I am hit with a reeking wave of alcohol.

"I need… Um… I don't.." She presses a hand to her forehead, blinking around with a confused look etched on her face before promptly turning and vomiting onto the grass…. That poor grass. I feel sorry for it, really I do. But I guess that's just me being compassionate. The smell and sound is awful, and I have to resist the urge to put as much distance between her and I as possible. However, being the great friend that I am, I step forward and steady her when she wobbles, almost face planting into the pile of puke.

"Are you done?" I ask, having to talk to her as if she's five for her to comprehend anything I'm saying. She's so far gone, she's practically walking on the moon. "Carter." I grab her chin, force her to look at me, ignore the puff of vomit breath that wafts towards me. "Are you done or are you going to be sick again before I can get you to my bathroom?"

She laughs, flashing her white teeth, and slurs something incomprehensible.

I roll my eyes, grab onto her arm and begin hauling her in the house. She stumbles behind me, runs into the banister on the stairs. "Ouch. That wassn verr nice…"

"Shhh," I hiss. "Do you want Mom to know you're here?"

She shakes her head quickly, making her eyes unfocused with the sudden movement. She absentmindedly presses a hand to her stomach, and I can see her throat muscles begin to work. "No! Don't you dare!" I squeak, practically carrying her up the stairs. As soon as we reach the second floor, I shove her into the bathroom, hold her face over the toilet while she lets fly for the second time.

"I bet that felt great," I tell her sarcastically, referring to her deep dry heaves that sounded painful and not feeling particularly sympathetic. "Stand up." She obeys, pressing a hand to the wall for balance.

"I have to pee," She says, and her voice sounds so innocent and young that I have to laugh.

"Go ahead… No! In the toilet, Carter! We pee in the toilet not the bathtub."

"Oh," She pulls down her pants, does her business, all the while talking very seriously about how sorry she is for eating those poor chickens and cows for all these years. "I think… mayb ishoulld.. be a veg.. vegat..v"

"Vegetarian," I finish for her. "Are you done yet?"

"Yes," She confirms but stays firmly seated on the toilet seat, waiting for my next command.

I turn the water on in the tub, fill it to the top. "Get in…" She sighs, makes her way over to the tub with her pants still at her ankles. "Not with your clothes on. Give them to me, I'll put them in the wash." She hands me the rest of her clothes, most of which have puke clinging to them. I help her into the bath, can't help but crack a smile as she squeals, beginning to splash around in the water. Reaching out, I grab her chin, force her to focus on me. "I will be back in two minutes, tops. Don't get water on the floor. Don't puke in your water. And stay conscious okay? Two minutes."

She nods, eager to please me, and I turn and hurry out the door and to the laundry room.

As I'm coming back up the stairs, I run into Fang.

"Did she come over just to use the shower?"

I laugh. "Nope. Homegirl is wasteddd..."

Fang rolls his eyes. "I'll have to thank her later. Got me out of that project."  
"Aww, aren't you just a lucky little fellow?" I tease, stepping close and pressing my body against his.

He swallows. "I don't know. You tell me.."

I bend my head to his, feel his breath on my lips, and just as he brings his head down to kiss me, I scamper out of reach, snickering. "Fang? Lucky? Please!"

Remembering my extremely drunk friend in the bathroom, I pick up my speed, ignoring Fang's annoyed growl from the stairs.

"You're going to regret this tomorrow," I tell Carter as I help her dry off.

She glares at me, folds her arms over her chest like a child. "You're meanie."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

* * *

"Here," I say, handing Carter some Aspirin and a glass of pickle juice. She wrinkles her nose as the sour scent hits her.

"I'll puke before I get this down," She murmurs, eyeing the green liquid through the clear cup.

"Suck it up, Princess. You wanna party like a big shot? You c-" I start, but she cuts me off.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You don't approve."

"Just drink it. It's supposed to help," I tell her and watch with interest as she gulps it all down. "See? Not so bad, huh?"

"Whatever," She mutters, irritable. "Can we just go to school already?"

I get a sick satisfaction watching Carter try and hold her cookies in onthe car ride to the school. What? Oh, don't look at me like that. It's not that I like seeing her sick, I just hope that this killer hangover will remind her why she shouldn't drink in the first place. Yeah, yeah. Call me a Momma Bear. Call me lame, but who feels fine and who is tossing their cookies in the bathroom stall?

"Do you have gum?" She asks me miserably, washing her hands in the sink.

I hand her a stick of spearmint while she rinses her mouth.

"Stop looking at me like that," She snaps. "Lesson learned, okay? You win."

She marches out of the bathroom, obviously annoyed with me, and I don't attempt to stop her. Instead, I seek out Fang.

I find him walking with Iggy down a side hall amongst the mass of students hustling to their next class.

"Hey Mom," He fires at me, slinging a careless arm around my shoulder.

"Don't you start too! She made a bad decision, and I want her to learn from it… In my opinion, that makes me a good friend, not a mom," I tell him, realizing that I sound defensive but not caring.

"I know, Max. I'm just messing with you," He murmurs, voice muffled as he turns and buries his nose into my hair.

Iggy "coughs" into his hand, and I can distinctly hear "lame" leave his mouth.

"You shut up. If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it."

I spot Ella at the end of the main hall at the same time Iggy does. He speeds up, leaving Fang and I behind and muttering over his shoulder about how he didn't know it was a crime to cough these days.

* * *

"Plans today?" Mom asks, wrapping her favorite apron around her hips. I admire her womanly curves, envy them, wish I wasn't such a stick. _Stupid bird kid genes._

"Shopping with Carter. Pure joy," I say sarcastically. Carter has a date tomorrow with someone other than Austin, which is ridiculous. Sure, they broke up, but it's obvious to anyone that they're still pining over each other.

"Don't sound so excited, babe," She laughs, washing her hands in the sink before beginning to gather her ingredients. "How is Carter? I don't think I've seen much of her lately."

This is true. Mom hasn't seen much of Carter, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been around. Ask my poor toilet how much puke it's seen in the last couple of weeks.

I shrug in response to Mom's question, looking up when I hear the front door slam shut.

"Dr.M!" Carter chirps, sauntering into the kitchen. "Long time no see." She comes up behind me, wraps me into a hug. "Hey Maxie-Pad," She breathes over my shoulder. Mom laughs as I turn around, swat at Carter for calling me the ridiculous nickname I forbade her to call me. It's easy for me to ignore the way she smells, like alcohol and cigarettes masked in too much perfume. In fact, she comes in smelling like that so often now that nothing seems out of the norm. I'm accustomed to it. I haven't confronted her about it. I'll back off, let her have her fun. It's normal for teens to party. Doesn't mean I have to, but Carter's her own person, and that's what I'll let her be.

"Let's just go."

* * *

"So who is this guy?" I ask around a mouthful of chocolate ice cream.

Carter tosses her jet black hair, gives a small shrug. Her eyes roam the store windows as we walk through the mall. "You don't know him."

"What's he like?"

She ignores my question, continues eating her ice cream in small, distracted bites.

"Carter."

Finally, she turns, meets my eyes. "You don't know him, Max. Okay?"

I stare into her eyes, search them, and come up short. "Okay," I agree because I don't actually care what he's like. He's not Austin, and that's all that matters to me. I know. I know. I should give new people a chance, but what am I if not stubborn?

Suddenly, Carter grins. "Max those jeans would work wonders on your figure! What size are you again? A zero? God, I wish I had your legs. Come on. You're totally trying these on."

And just like that, any tension we had eases away.

* * *

Tonight we watched The Hunger Games, not exactly a great choice. It hit just a tad too close to home, and we all dispersed quietly after the movie was over, needing to be alone with our thoughts.

Feeling a little suffocated, I amble down to Fang's room, poke my head in the door. "You wanna go for a therapeutic flying session?"

He agrees immediately, and we jump out of his window together, unfurl our wings, welcome the pull of our muscles that don't get worked often enough anymore. It's amazing. We soar for over an hour in companionable silence, not needing words to express our feelings.

Finally, we land in the park, settle onto the swings.

I glance around, a bittersweet memory forming in my mind. "The last time I was here was when Trent told me he was sick," I say, my words disrupting the still silence around us. Fang sighs, standing up and coming to put his arms around me from behind. He rocks us just slightly, tugs my shirt farther down on my arm so that he can kiss my bare shoulder. I turn into him, letting him kiss my cheek before I touch my lips to his.

"I love you," He whispers into my mouth. I don't say it back, just put every ounce of my feelings into my kiss. We talk with our body language, the way we have been doing since we were in diapers. I don't have to say it. He knows.

* * *

I amble down the empty school hallway until I come to Mr. Perkin's room to turn in an overdue paper. I twist the knob, let myself in the dark classroom.

I try not to jump when my eyes take in a figure that I don't expect to be there.

"What are you doing in here? What do you have against being on time to lunch?"

"I could ask you the same questions," Kace replies calmly.

I roll my eyes, continue across the room to the turn in basket. "Whatever…. Seriously what are you doing in here? It's creepy and weird to sit in a dark classroom all by yourself and sneak up on innocents like me." Okay, that was stretching it, I know, but I was on a roll.

Now it's his turn to rolls his eyes. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

I purse my lips. "True."

He shrugs, my dismissal. I sigh. The kid is impossible.

"Fine." I march past him, heading back out the door.

"You should watch out for your little friend!" He calls.

I stop dead in my tracks, turn on my heel, and stalk back into the classroom. "What did you say?"

"Your friend." His gray eyes bore into mine. "You should watch out for her. Carter. I think that's her name."

My eyes narrow. "Why?"

"Don't act like you don't see it."

"Enlighten me," I tell him.

"She has all the telltale signs of being an addict," He admits, looking me square in the eyes and not backing down when I turn on my frosty glare.

"Please!" I scoff. "She's just having fun."

He stares at me, for such a long time that I begin to feel uncomfortable. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

I stare at him, incredulous. How dare he act like he knows Carter better than I do!

"Take it from someone who would know. You've been through a lot. I get that, but I somehow doubt you know as much as you seem to think you do about addiction. Put away your pride and listen to me. She needs help. Stop it before it gets bad."

"You don't know anything," I mutter before turning and walking back out the door. Screw him and his predictions. I know my best friend.


	36. Chapter 36

**New chapter is up! And relatively on time if not a tad_ early_! Oh well! I figured it would be cruel to keep you all waiting while our ole pal Carter hangs in the balance ;)… At this very moment, I should be participating in my last basketball game of the season. Instead, I am sitting on my computer, updating my fanfiction story because I'm a loser and my best friend gave me her strep throat. Thanks, love! Anywho I hope you enjoy this newest installment to my story! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! And tell me what you think! _I was kind enough to give you an early update (And it's pretty freaking long), you can be kind enough to review_. Kay thanks! Love yall :) REVIEW!**

**KarleeRay**

"You're up early," Mom comments as I saunter in the kitchen at 8 am on a Saturday. Why yes. Yes I am, Mother. I could not seem to sleep through the ear splitting headache that has set up fort inside my poor, innocent skull.

"Headache," I mutter, opening the fridge and reaching inside for a bottle of water. I sit down at the bar, take refuge in my favorite smell on this planet. Bacon. Yeah baby. That's the stuff.

"Are you remembering to take your meds?" She asks, going all Momma Bear on me.

I sigh, dropping my head into my hands. "Yeah."

"You think you're getting sick?" She places a cool hand to my forehead and then to my stomach. "No fever… Maybe some breakfast is all you need."

"Maybe," I agree. "It's probably just stress."

I look up to see her pinning me with warm brown eyes, so similar to my own. "What are you stressed up about? Honey, you know you can talk to me about anything…"

SWERVE. Major swerve. I trust my mom, but she can't know about Carter. "Just… school, basketball…" I shrug. "No biggie."

I'm lying. She knows it. I know it, but neither of us say anything. I let the lie hang in the air, make no attempt to cover it up. There's no point.

Angel comes trotting into the kitchen, saving us from a tense silence.

"Morning sweetie," Mom greets, smiling affectionately at Angel who hops up onto the bar stool beside me.

"Morning," Angel murmurs, patting down Celeste's hair. Her brow wrinkles suddenly, and she looks up at me. "Are you okay, Max?"

I glare at her, knowing that she's feeling around inside my head. _Butt out Ange, _I think at her. She gives a small shrug, and then turns her attention back to Celeste.

I sigh heavily, going to the medicine cabinet to retrieve my Melatonin. My meds have worked for the most part, successfully warding away my brain explosions. I just hope they continue to work. I've heard that sometimes when you take medication for extended periods of time that your body can become immune to that medicine. I just hope that doesn't happen with me.

I shake out two small Melatonin pills, lay them on the counter, and then retrieve one tiny birth control pill.

"What's that one for?" Angels asks, gesturing to the birth control pill. I snatch it up quickly, dry swallowing it in my haste to get it out of her sight.

I shrug, nonchalantly, throwing up my mental blocks. "Ibuprofen."

"Are you sick?" She asks innocently, and I inwardly sigh with relief. She bought it.

"Maybe," I tell her, and when her forehead wrinkles because she doesn't like the thought of me being sick, I snatch her up, cuddle her to my chest.

She giggles. "Love you, Max."

My heart melts. We all know that we love each other. That much is obvious. But we don't say it near enough. "love you, babe."

* * *

"I don't appreciate you disrupting my class with your sarcastic comments, . The class may find you amusing, I, however, do not. This needs to stop. Consider this your warning. Next time, it's detention. Got it?" Misses Sullivan snaps, looking down on me.

My eyes roll before I can stop them. "Maybe you should pull out your sense of humor every once in a while. Life must get pretty boring for someone as uptight as you," I tell her before I remember that I'm talking to a teacher, and this teacher at that. Misses Sullivan is always on my case! It's so unfair. It all started when I gave her the nickname Sully during a particularly boring day in class. You know? Sully? Like from Monster's Inc? I thought it was funny and clever. So did the class. She, surprisingly, did not.

"That's it. I've had enough of you, Maximum Ride. Detention. Every day after school this week until four o clock," She blazes, right in my face. I can smell her nasty coffee breath, and I resist the urge to let my face scrunch up.

"What?" I screech. "I have a game on Friday! I can't miss practice every day this week!"

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," She smirks.

"You must be really dim-witted if you can't even make up your own comebacks," I snap, let that sink in. "That's right, Sully. I know my _Gone with the Wind_." I send a silent prayer of thanks to Nudge for making me sit through that entirely too long movie so many times. My eyes take in Sully's raging expression and decide it's in my best interest to skedaddle on out of there. I've done enough damage as it is.

I stomp out into the empty hallway. There is only one class on this wing this period, and from the looks of it, there aren't many people in there…. So what is Carter doing ambling around here?

"Carter! Hey!" I call, jogging to catch up to her.

She whirls. "What are you doing over here?"

"Sully held me after class. Gave me detention for 'being amusing'," I explain, falling into step beside her.

She laughs, shaking her head. "You would, Max. You would." Her breath is tinged with alcohol and mint.

"Hey um do you have a minute?" I ask, remembering that I wanted to check up on her.

"Yeah." She smiles, turns to face me. "What's up, babe?"

It is then that I take in her appearance, the red ringed eyes, dilated pupils, no make-up, messy hair, like she doesn't have a care in the world. My head tells me what my heart refuses to hear. So I ignore it. It's best not to jump to conclusions, right?

"Are you okay? You've been hitting the bottle kind of heavy lately…" I hedge.

Carter looks at me, taken aback. "Excuse me?" She asks, and I don't miss the hidden warning in her voice.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you know what you're doing. I mean… you're in control right?"

"It's called fun! You should try it sometime, Mom," She snaps, a kindling fire in her eyes.

Now it's my turn to be taken aback. "I don't have to drink to have fun, Carter."

"How would you know? _Fun_ probably isn't even in your vocabulary! You just think you're so high and mighty don't you? Better than everyone? Better than me? Better at basketball? Better looking? Better fighter? Well maybe you should hop down off your pedestal and stop pointing fingers at me until you make sure your own hands are clean!" She screeches at the top of her lungs. I stare at the monster in front of me, try to understand how things got to this point without me seeing it. She looks crazy, literally insane.

"Who are you right now?" I snarl, angry at her harsh words. Why does everyone always accuse me of thinking I'm better than them?

She snorts, begins to march away, but my hands come up, and I yank her back by her backpack. That's when the pipe falls out, rolls across the floor. It's small and black, seemingly harmless, but the purpose of it is clear. Weed obviously, maybe even more, much worse things. Drugs all the same.

I can do nothing but stare, and Carter seems to be in the same position. Silence coats the air around us, making it hard to breath.

"That's not mine," She says finally, the worst lie of the century, and when she sees that I don't buy it, she lunges for it, scooping it up and holding it to her chest.

"Give it to me," I snap.

"No."

"Give it to me, Carter," I growl, latching onto her. We struggle for a moment; Carter playing keep away with the stupid thing.

"Stop it, Max! You don't understand! Get off me! Don't touch me!"

In our struggle, Carter trips over my feet, brings me crashing to the ground beside her. My instincts are quick, and I immediately straddle her, yank the pipe from her shaking fingers.

"I hate you," She yells, looking me straight in the eye. "You are the worst friend ever."

My eyes flick up just in time to see Fang, Austin, and Iggy standing at the end of the hall.

"Yeah well I think I just might hate you too," I mutter, getting off of her and beginning to march away and towards the boys. I don't know how much they've seen, and I'm afraid to find out.

"You don't know what you're missing!" Carter calls, and I turn to see her getting shakily to her feet. "It's like flying, Max."

"Yeah, I doubt it. Take it from someone who would know."

* * *

"I didn't know there were drugs involved," I admit to Kace. I had sought him out when the lunch bell rang, and I knew that there was a good chance he would be milling around in the empty music room. I didn't know what else to do, who else to turn to.

Grim gray eyes flick up to mine. There's just a hint of smugness in them, and that makes me want to stand up and punch him right in his pretty little face. Okay, so I'm a little irritable. You would be too if you had had the night that I had.

"Addiction is a tricky thing," He says simply.

My shoulders sag in defeat.

"Don't feel too bad," He says, and my head snaps up in surprise. Is Kace consoling me? Well would you look at that. There might be hope after all. "You probably think you should have seen the signs… Don't fool yourself into believing that. Addicts are sneaky. You won't see the signs unless you know what you're looking for."

"And you do?" I ask exasperated.

He stares at me as if trying to decipher something. After a moment, he speaks, "There's not a lot I don't know."

I wait for him to elaborate.

When he realizes I am not going to say anything, he takes a deep breath. "My life started out similar to the way yours did. In a cage. No surprise there." He flutters his wings just a tad to prove his point. "I escaped when I was eleven. I had waited so patiently for so long… the white coats finally slipped up, and I jumped at my chance for freedom. They didn't come after me like I expected them to. It was just me, on the loose, on my own, just a kid. I didn't know what to do. I lived in my own personal hell, always paranoid that they were going to find me and take me back. I remember one day I was walking down the street. This guy came up to me. He was selling newspapers. I started to tell him to piss off, but then I saw the front cover. _Breaking News: Birdkids Spotted in New York City Restaurant_. I was in awe. I took the paper, five finger discount." Kace breaks off, smirking. "That was the first I heard of the infamous Maximum Ride. I kept the paper for a long time, and even though I didn't know you, I envied you, envied the fact that you had a family, that you weren't alone. That made me decide to look for my own family. You know when you think of the family you've never met, it's easy to imagine the cookie cutter house, the hard working dad, the stay at home mom, the 2.5 siblings…. It wasn't hard to find my mother, surprisingly enough. My dad was a dead beat, no siblings. My mom lived in a rundown house in Reno." Kace stops. His gray eyes are distant, and I know he's gone to a place that no one but him can see.

"How was she? Your mom?" I ask softly.

"She… was trash. I've never felt such harsh disappointment in my life. I loved her. She was my mother. But I hated her just as much. She worked at one of Reno's "ranches", ranching off women to dirty, horny, no good, men."

I balk, and Kace nods his head. "Yeah, she sold her body for a living, sold her body for drugs. She would do anything to get high just one time. She would take anything from anyone, heroin, ecstasy, crank, weed. She was an absolute mess. The only thing that mattered was the drugs. She was a monster. I tried to get her clean, did everything I could, but she always went back. I wasn't enough. Her own son wasn't enough for her to want to get clean…. Eventually, she overdosed. I found her on the couch, aerosol can in hand. She had been huffing…. Don't look at me like that. Don't feel sorry for me and don't you dare feel sorry for her. She made her bed."

I stay silent. What can I say?

"So that's how I knew. I see my mom in Carter, in her eyes." He holds up the pipe that I snatched away from Carter in the hall. "But I'd be willing to bet there's more than just weed in the picture based on how defensive you say she was… I'm not saying she's a full blown addict, but she's well on her way. That's why I tried to warn you."

I lower my eyes, slightly embarrassed. "I thought she was just having fun, just a few parties, a few too many drinks. I had no idea she was doing drugs… I don't know what to do, and that's not something you'll hear me say often."

"She needs help, Max," He tells me seriously.

"What? I can't out her! I can't snitch on her. Do you know how much trouble she'll be in?" I exclaim, feeling overwhelmed, out of my element, and like I'm in way over my head.

Kace sighs, shakes his head. "What's worth more? Her friendship or her life? Think about it…" He hops off the desk he had been perched on, begins to saunter toward the door.

"That's it? You're just going to leave? After everything I told you?" I ask, incredulous.

He runs a hand through his ash blond hair. "I've said everything you need to hear. I've done my part. Now you do yours."

My teeth grit with anger. "Screw you," I snap.

"Sounds fun." He gives me a killer smirk while my jaw hangs in fury.

"You're cold. You're cold, and you're mean because you don't know how to feel. You have no heart," I say simply, surprising him with the calmness in my reply.

Suddenly, he's serious. "You're right. I stopped feeling a long time ago. You should try it sometime." He comes up to me, very close, presses his hand against my chest. I begin to jerk away, feeling violated, but he holds me firmly in place. "That feeling you have right here? The guilty one? The one that loves Carter and hates her at the same time? You wouldn't feel that if you were as smart as me…. You're wrong. I have a heart. It just doesn't work."

With that, he turns and walks out the door, leaving me more confused than ever.

* * *

"You can't do this, sweetie. You can't let this consume you. When it comes down to it, its Carter's problem not yours."

I peek through the crack in my hands, look into Fang's eyes. I want to lose myself in them, forget my worries, fly to a place where life is easy and people don't die… Yeah right. I'm funny.

Fang only calls me "sweetie" when he's feeling overly affectionate or when he's worried about me. I'm guessing it's the latter.

I sigh, pick my way over to him, crawl into his lap. Strong arms wrap me an unbreakable grasp.

"She's my best friend, Fang. What's her problem is my problem," I murmur quietly.

We sit at the kitchen table, lights dimmed down low. The rest of the house is sleeping.

"I know," He agrees. "I just don't like to see you let it get to you like this. It's ridiculous. Carter needs to grow up. She's being completely irresponsible, and she's taking you down with her." Anger laces his voice.

"You can't blame her…"

"The hell I can," He snaps. "And you can too. Because the only person here to blame is her. No one forced her to do drugs."

I sigh. "Don't you get all worked up too."

Fang smirks, and my heart gives a tiny stutter. "I don't get worked up."

"Oh really? That's not what it looked like last night," I joke, my brain having lost all filter.

Fang's eyes widen in mock surprise. "Did Maximum Ride just make a perverted joke?"

I roll my eyes, automatically wishing I could take it back, realizing I just opened a whole new door. "I guess the average teenager disease is wearing off on me."

We share a soft laugh, perfectly content pressed up against one another.

"What are you going to do?" Fang asks finally, bringing back the seriousness.

"I have to try and talk to her first, see what I can do. If worse comes to worse, I'll have to think about telling someone with authority."

Fang nods, his chin resting on the top of my head. The air grows silent around us.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask hesitantly, not sure whether or not this is a good idea.

"Mmhmm."

I swallow hard, twist in his arms so that I'm straddling his waist and looking into his eyes. I want an honest answer. This is not something we've ever talked about, and it has weighed on my mind on more than a few occasions.

"Do you think that the only reason you came back to me… to us… was because Maya died?"

Fang is silent, and I can't help but notice the way his face goes slightly paler than normal.

"It's a fair question. If you think about it," I say quickly, wanting to defend myself in advance in case he got angry.

He takes a breath. "If it wasn't Maya's death, something else would have brought us back to each other."

"Yeah but… I know it's not something that we've talked about but it was obvious to me that you two had…_ something_… going on… If she hadn't died, is it fair enough to assume that you could still be somewhere with her instead of me?" I feel very vulnerable all the sudden and saying these things out loud only makes them seem more probable and true.

Obsidian eyes meet mine, and for the first time in a long time, I have no idea what he's thinking, what he's about to say.

"I would never lie to you, Max. So I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong about Maya and I having something going on. I couldn't define it. I didn't understand it. I was confused. I missed you. Maya was there, and you weren't. I felt for her. Whether it was romantic on my end… I don't know. I'll never know. All I know is that when I watched Maya fall, there was a stretched out moment when it wasn't Maya. It was you. I saw _you_ falling, dying, being ripped away from me. I've never felt pain like that. I thought of all the things I felt but never said, of all the things I would never get to say to you, and it devastated me. That's when I knew I needed you, couldn't live without you. I knew I had to come back… So I did…"

I lower my eyes, try to keep the tears at bay. Hearing Fang open up to me, hearing his most intimate, raw thoughts and feelings, it touches me. When he speaks from the heart, it's music, a melody that you could never get tired of.

Two fingers under my chin make me look up. "I once told you that there would always be a you and me, whether you acknowledged it or not… I meant that. Truly. So when you ask me if we would be together if Maya was still alive, I can honestly answer you and say that something else would have brought us together if not Maya's death."

His eyes search my face, questioning, and I nod, lean in and rest my head on his chest.

"I never told you I was sorry," I say suddenly.

"What?"

"About Maya. I didn't like her, but I never wanted her dead. I'm sorry, for you, for her. I wish you hadn't had to see that."

Fang smiles softly, places a kiss to the tip of my nose. "There aren't many things in this world that I'm certain of, but you're one of them."

I fall into his kiss, lose myself in him. His hands run up and down my thighs on both sides of him. I take advantage of the fact that I'm straddling his waist, press myself closer and closer still. My hinds wind into his hair while his soft groan thrills me to no end. I pull back wanting to say something, but his lips seek me out, hating to break contact. "I want you," I murmur into his mouth. Now it's his turn to pull back. His eyes ask me a question that I immediately answer with a positive response. He lifts me up, carries to me to the couch. It's dark, can't see a thing, which makes it all the more amazing, just the feel of skin on skin.

And there are no regrets as I give myself up to him, tie myself to him once again, strengthen the knots on the unbreakable shield of our love.


	37. Chapter 37

**Why hello there faithful readers! Yes, I realize it has been a while but the new chapter is FINALLY up! Hoping you're all still with me! I'm not sure what was wrong with me this week, just could not seem to get my ideas on to paper. It felt forced everytime I tried, and bad writing comes when it's forced. _The quality of this chapter may be slightly below par_ and I pray that you don't get bored! Let me know what you think! REVIEW!**

**Also, I would just like to thank yall for reviewing! I went somewhere the other day and came back and I had gained 36 reviews! Made my whole day! I love you wonderful people!**

**Anywho, this chapter is actually _really long_ so I hope you enjoy it. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

**KarleeRay**

"Look, I just came here to get what you took from me. Do you have it or not?" Carter asks testily, entering the restaurant she finally agreed to meet me at.

"Sit down," I direct without glancing up. I don't need to see her to know what I'll find.

She sighs, puffs the tangy scent of alcohol in my face. My jaw clenches, anger spilling into me at the fact that I shouldn't even be in this situation.

"I have it," I say wearily. "But you're not getting it back, not this one." And when her jaw drops and she starts to protest in outrage, I cut her off. "Don't act like you don't have another one."

She falls silent. The air is thick around us, a blanket of caution. There's so much I want to say, need to say, but I can't find the words. Carter saves me from having to find them, "Need I remind you again, you are not my mother, Max."

"What did you expect me to do?" I snap. "Obviously I'm not your mother, but I'm your best friend and that gives me the right to care about you!"

"As my best friend it's your duty to try to understand where I'm coming from," Carter says calmly, taking an enormous swig of her drink.

"As your best friend it's my duty to look out for you when you're making stupid decisions. You are playing with fire," I hiss, brown eyes boring into blue ones.

Carter softens under my gaze. "I'm fine, babe. Don't make this into a bigger deal than it is. I've got it all under control. It's just a few drinks, a little weed, that's all."

"You're lying," I state. I know she is, see right through her.

"I'm not." Her tone hedges back towards defensive.

"What else?" I ask.

Her eyes fall to the tabletop, linger there.

I swallow. "You have to tell me, Carter. This isn't the time for secrets."

"Ecstasy. Oxy… No heroin, I swear… Just a little crank, just a little, Max, not enough to do any damage," She says, voice lined with a little desperation, as if she's willing me not to overreact.

Even so, I choke on my drink, splutter as she confirms my worst fears. "What? Meth? Carter! You said it was just weed!" My hand strikes out, wraps around her wrist in a viselike grip. "Meth will ruin you."

"It was just a little… I wasn't going to take it, but Nolan said that-"

"Nolan," I confirm, nodding to myself. "That's the guy you've been seeing. The one 'I don't know'?"

"You _don't_ know him," Carter protests weakly.

"I don't need to," I snap. "Not after what you're telling me. He got you to try crank? And you think he cares about you? He is ruining you, Carter. He will ruin you."

"He's not like that, really, he's a good guy. I think I might even love him…" She admits, having the decency to look slightly sheepish.

"Oh come on," I scoff. "You love him?" I bark out a laugh.

Carter stays silent, mouth set in disappointment.

"You obviously need help," I say after a moment.

Carter's eyes snap up to my face in panic. "What? No Max. You can't out me! My parents would kill me!"

"Yeah well if you don't get help, you'll end up doing the job for them," I say wearily.

"If you tell, we're done as friends," She threatens.

I stand. "_You_ tell them, Carter. You tell them or I will." With that, I walk out, fighting back waves of stiff emotion.

* * *

"I said a one piece, Ella!"

"I know, but you have a perfect body. It would be a crime to cover that up in old lady fabric," She tells me, ripping the tags off of a sparkly, midnight blue bikini that would leave absolutely nothing to the imagination.

"Old lady fabric?" I ask, wrinkling my nose.

Ella looks at me as if I'm two. "The only people who wear one pieces are toddlers and old people."

"That is so not true."

"Whatever. Just put it on." She's annoyed with me, but I could care less. I drop the bikini onto the floor, lie back on my bed. Mom is throwing a small party at our house due to the fact that our in-ground pool in the backyard is finally finished. She invited work friends, and we invited friends from school. Nothing major, but that doesn't give me a reason to walk around with my junk hangin' around like a fourth street hooker. Okay fine. Slight exaggeration. The swimsuit really isn't all that bad, cute actually, but it's a _string_ bikini. So un-Max.

My mind does a throwback, sifts through memories until it comes to a stop at one from a very long time ago. The flock was in New York City. We were being chased by erasers and had merged with a steady stream of students on a class trip to the zoo. The younger kids were ecstatic to see animals in person that they had only ever heard about. The bears' habitat had contained a swimming pool, and I remember distinctly the Gasman turning to me. _"Man, I'd love to have a pool." _His blue eyes tugged at my heart strings. I would never be able to give him anything he really wanted.

And now look where we are. I sit up on my bed, swallow down the tears that threaten as a weight of gratefulness settles onto my chest. My eyes land on Ella. Just a short year ago, a relationship with her was practically impossible, more than I could ask for. Now, I get to see her every day.

I sigh and stand up, wishing, for my sake, that I could be like Kace and not feel anything. Cursing under my breath, I strip off my current clothes and snag the sparkly bikini from the ground.

Ella turns from my mirror, face alight. "Yay! You're going to look totally gorgeous!"

I roll my eyes. "You're lucky I love you."

* * *

I survey myself in the mirror. The bikini is, uh, cute, I guess, if you're into that kind of thing. It's a known fact that us bird kids are all tall and skinny, so as I look into my mirror I'm not worried about thunder thighs or a muffin top like most girls would be. I'm worried about my wings, totally exposed, for everyone who looks my way to see. Part of me is proud of my wings. They are some kick-ass looking wings. The other part feels slightly like the freak I've always known I was. I think they're interesting and unique and beautiful, but what will everyone else think? The un-enhanced people?

I stop short. Since when does Maximum Ride care what other people think? I roll my eyes at myself, feeling suddenly ridiculous. My wings are breathtaking. I'll wear them like a badge of honor.

Raising my chin high, I exit my room, listen to the sounds of chattering people downstairs. As I walk down the stairs, I scan the room around me. Yeah, small party my butt. I see grown-ups, little kids, teens from school, the whole nine yards.

I quickly begin to feel exposed in my little bikini, but shrug it off, make my face and body language exude confidence. Once, Dylan had told me that my arrogance was one of the things that made me attractive. I had promptly slapped him upside the head. It had been the only thing that Dylan and Fang had ever agreed on. I slapped Fang also, just as hard.

I give polite greetings to the adult guests that I pass along the way to the kitchen, just like Mom told me to. Really all I want to do is get some food and then head outside, by the pool, where the younger people are hanging around.

"Max, honey, look who decided to show after all!" Mom calls, catching me right in the middle of gathering a mountain of food from the buffet of dishes that caterers brought.

I look up just in time to see Mom dragging Victoria up to me. "Hey, I haven't seen you in forever! I thought you weren't coming! How are you?" I ask, genuinely surprised and happy to see her as she pulls me into a hug.

She pulls back, gives me a smile. "It's been rough, but I'm getting there."

"And your mom?" I prompt, sitting on an empty barstool and giving her all my attention.

"Yeah not so much. It's almost like we've switched places and I'm the mom now because I have to worry about her and take care of her, you know?" Victoria's eyes grow sad, and she gives a small shrug. "Trent was her baby, you know?" She smiles, fighting off tears. "But I came here to have fun, not to talk about my brother… cute swimsuit by the way."

I glance down. "Ella forced me."

"Aah," Victoria comments. "Thought it didn't really look like something you would pick out."

I grin at her through a mouthful of cupcake, and she links her arm through mine. "Come on. The real party looks like it's outside."

We saunter out the backdoor, come to a stop on the outdoor patio. My eyes scan the groups of people before they find Fang, Iggy, Austin, and a few other guys all clustered together. I look up just in time to see Fang's eyes discretely make their way up and down the full length of my body…. Twice. He doesn't even look at my face! Oh he is so going to hear about this later! What a boy! He swallows hard before quickly looking away, having no idea that I caught him in the act.

I look over in time to see Gazzy do a huge cannonball off the diving board, soaking some of Nudge's little friends in the process. I grab Victoria by the arm, drag her behind me as I sneak up behind Fang, wrap my arms around his neck. "I saw that," I whisper into his ear, a smirk in my voice. Then, I sashay on past him, all in one smooth move. Victoria laughs, linking her arm back into mine, and we head over to sit on the side of the pool, let our feet hang in the water.

I notice Victoria watching Angel, who has been at the bottom of the deep end for about five minutes now. "Don't worry. She has gills."

Victoria nods. "I know, it's just hard to comprehend. I'm not enhanced, obviously, and seeing enhanced people in action still fascinates me."

Angel finally comes up, holding a ton of diving sticks in her hands. "If you can't go get them yourselves, then don't throw them," She says snootily, placing them in front of some little boys. I have to grin.

"Oh hey Max," Angel chirps, catching sight of me. She swims over, and I pull her up into my arms, not caring that her swimsuit is getting me all wet.

"Where are all your friends?" I ask her, turning her in my arms so that I can see her face.

"Over there," She points to the shallow end and makes a face. "They aren't very good swimmers."

I laugh and throw her back into the water. "You want some food? I'm all out."

I show Victoria my empty plate for emphasis, and she grins, standing up with me. "I don't get it." She reaches for my belly, squeezes the tight skin. "Where the hell does all this food go?"

"The perks of being part bird," I tell her smugly, and she swats me on the arm. I take a step towards the house, but being the incredibly perceptive person that I am, I notice Victoria staring past me. She gives a slight smile, and I whirl fast, but not fast enough. Iggy comes rocketing into me at full speed, launching us both into the pool. The water is cool, but not uncomfortable except when you have tons of it in your nose. I come up, spluttering and gasping for breath, even though I could have breathed under water if I had really needed to. Everyone has seen this little incident and is standing around laughing at the angry and surprised expression on my face.

Iggy surfaces beside me, giggling maniacally. I launch myself at him, pushing his head back down under the water. I have to laugh at the way he struggles under my hands, but then I panic when he stops struggling and swims downward instead of upward. My feet kick harder trying to ward off any possible attacks, but it does no good. Iggy catches hold of my thighs and drags me underwater.

We struggle at the bottom of the deep end, and my nose takes in a massive amount of water from trying to laugh. Finally, we surface.

"Okay, okay. Truce," Iggy laughs, and I quickly agree.

"Let's play chicken!" Nudge squeals, treading over to us. "Come on! It'll be so fun. Remember the last time we played? At the ocean? That was so awesome. I wish we could go back in time and redo that. But we can't, so let's do it now! Come on. Me and Jett against Iggy and Ella, and Max and Fang. Deal?"

I shrug, and Iggy guffaws. "You think I'm going to complain about Ella getting put on my shoulders?" Just for that, I give him a nice long dunk.

"I'm not getting my hair wet," Ella confirms, walking up to the edge of the pool.

"Then you can't play," I say simply. "Fang come on!" I call, motioning for him to jump in. He pulls his black t-shirt over his head, and I try not to drool. Looking around, I notice a bunch of other girls also trying to keep their spit in their mouths where it belongs.

He jumps in, and I tread over to him. He looks me right in the eye. "I saw that," He murmurs smugly.

My eyes roll. "You only see what you want to see. Besides, I wasn't even looking in your direction."

He smirks, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close. "You're still in trouble," I mutter playfully.

"What can I say? I have the hottest girlfriend here," He murmurs. It's a playful, not true, teasing remark, but there's something so seductive about the way he says it. I swallow hard, and turn so that I'm facing him.

"Whatever. Let's just go kick some butt." Turning around, I see that Nudge is on Iggy's shoulders instead of Ella.

"Hurry up! It's go time! We're taking you guys down!" Nudge shouts, hyping herself up.

Fang ducks under water, and I slide myself onto his shoulders. When he stands, I notice that pretty much everyone has stopped to watch. They're all gathered around the side of the pool, laughing and waiting to see who wins.

Oh it is so on.

Nudge and I lunge at each other, trying to knock the other down while simultaneously trying to help the boys underneath us stay balanced. Our arms lock onto each other, and we struggle. "Iggy back up, I'm falling!" Nudge squeals, and Iggy immediately obeys. By this time, everyone is laughing, even Fang, and I decide that dreading this party was the most ridiculous thing I had ever done. I'm having a great time.

Nudge latches onto me again, and it all comes down to sheer strength. I jerk her hard to the left, taking Iggy off guard and they both fall over.

I punch the air, doing a little victory dance on Fang's shoulders. "Yeah! What's up now?!"

Nudge sulks, crossing her arms and demanding a rematch. Fang and I agree that we can beat them again, and we do. Then it turns into an all-out chicken war, and people start realizing that they also want to play. Angel and Gazzy join the mix. I put Angel on my shoulders and Iggy put Gazzy on his, and we took them down over and over. At one point, I was on Fang's shoulders and we were matching up against a kid from school and his girlfriend, Alexis, whom I didn't know. I latched onto her and she gave me a hard jerk and I swear I went sailing four feet in the air. She immediately apologized, said she didn't mean to jerk me that hard, and we shared a good, understanding laugh. She was obviously enhanced and I immediately took a liking to her.

Everyone wanted a bird kid or a little kid on their team because we're lighter so we're easier to hold and balance, but eventually I made my way out of the pool, feeling starved.

I'm on my way to the kitchen when I catch sight of familiar blonde hair and head on over. "Well look who decided to show up." I smirk as Dylan turns around.

An excited smile flits across his face. "Max!" He picks me up, spins me in a circle. "I was going to come say something but you looked pretty busy in there." He gestures to the on-going chicken matches in the pool.

I grin. "So how are you? I feel like I haven't talked you in forever."

"It's been a while, I suppose," He agrees, sipping a Mountain Dew.

I nod. "I mean how are you really though?" I ask again, making my voice serious.

Dylan swallows, turns turquoise eyes on me. "I'm okay… I'm working on… um… finding someone…"

My eyes flick up to his. "And?…"

"So you see, I have this problem. I am still madly in love with a girl who is madly in love with someone else," He tells me, bitterness dripping from his words.

I sigh, not sure what to say. I was so sure Dylan could find someone other than me, so sure he didn't actually love me. I give him a sympathetic squeeze on the shoulder, but he flinches at my touch.

"I'm making some progress though…. There is this one girl. Mikayla. She's something special," He admits, eyes going slightly vacant as they travel to another place.

I grin. "Great! That's really great."

Dylan doesn't return my enthusiasm, but he does return my smile. "No but seriously, I miss you, you and the flock…. Don't really miss your boyfriend that much though. No offense."

I have to laugh at that. "We miss you too." I look around. By this time, you would think the party would be dying down, but no. It seems to be growing. It's dark outside at this hour, and the air seems to hold a slight chill.

Victoria comes up to me then, hugging me from behind. "I gotta say, you are one kick-ass chicken teammate."

"Duh," I tell her, reaching for Dylan's Mountain Dew. He hands me the bottle, and I begin chugging.

"Don't drink it all…. Max!... Max don't dr-" Dylan complains, and I grin at him as I finish the drink off. "Great. Thanks," He mutters as I hand him back the empty bottle.

Victoria assesses Dylan with her eyes. "Max, why don't you introduce me to your friend?" She asks politely, her eyes never leaving Dylan, who is completely oblivious.

"How rude of me," I comment dryly. "Dylan, this is Victoria Burks. I'm sure you remember her mother, Isabella. She rescued us from above ground."

Dylan gives her a smile worthy of a magazine cover, and Victoria raises her eyebrows at me as if to say _Why have you never introduced me to this glorious boy?_

"So, I'm going-" I start, but I break off as my eyes catch sight of a figure standing outside the gate in the backyard…. A figure with jet black hair and luminescent skin. Carter.

"What the hell?" I whisper, standing, and marching across the yard to the side with the gate. "What are you doing here?" I hiss.

Carter looks deranged, scared. She runs a hand through messy hair. "You invited me."

I start to say that I did no such thing. Then, I remember that I had, in fact, invited her, though it was before all of this stuff went down.

"Are you drunk? High?" I ask her. "Don't you dare lie to me."

She swallows. "A little of both. I'm good though. I can behave."

"You're not welcome here when you're in this state," I tell her, shutting the gate that I had opened to let her inside.

"Max I… I'm… I'm going to tell my parents. I'm... I was going to ask you if you'd come with me. I'm scared," She tells me, stumbling over her words. She looks utterly miserable and terrible lost.

I soften. "Of course I'll come. Listen, you're doing the right thing. Are you hungry? Cold? We'll get you something…" I open the gate for her, and she starts to step inside, when the headlights of a truck stop us. A red Dodge comes barreling up to us, driving through the grass.

My brow furrows in confusion. Carter pales, turns to me. "Max, I swear, I told him not to come here."

"Who?" I ask, trying to see past the headlights.

A guy angrily jumps out of the driver side, comes marching up to us.

"What do you think you're doing?" He snarls at Carter. "You were supposed to come to my place."

Carter's bottom lip quivers, but she stands strong. "I told you I'm done, Nolan. We aren't right for each other."

Nolan? So this was the yahoo that drug Carter into the partying? A kindling fire starts in my stomach, but I stay quiet.

"You don't get to decide when we're done. You can't just leave me," He snaps. The tangy odor of alcohol wafts off of him in waves. "Besides, you think if you leave me, you can find someone better? Baby, I'll make sure everyone knows just what kind of trash you are. I've still got the video."

Fear flashes in Carter's eyes. "You promised me you deleted that!"

"Promises are made to be broken. It's my trophy. You really think I would throw that away?" A slur begins to enter his voice. "Just get in the truck babe, and it stays between you and me."

Carter looks at me helplessly, and then takes a step towards the truck.

"Don't you dare," I snap, pulling her back and standing in front of her protectively.

"You're trespassing," I say, voice dangerously low. "If you know what's good for you, you'll get the hell off my property."

"Is that a threat, Angel?" He asks, eyes drinking me in, and I mentally curse the day this bikini was made. "What's wrong? You jealous? Don't worry. There's enough of Nolan to go around."

My face scrunches in disgust. "Yeah I'm definitely jealous. Beer guts, dirty beards, and tobacco cheeks are so my type." He doesn't really have a beer gut, not a big one at least, but he does have one nasty looking beard and his lower cheek is fat with chewing tobacco.

For a moment, I'm afraid he'll be too drunk to pick up on my sarcasm, but his face blazes with anger and he takes a step towards me.

"Look just give me back my bitch, and I'll go," He sneers.

I close the distance between us in seconds, putting us chest to chest. "I'm sorry, what did you call her?" I demand, right in his face. "This is your one chance to save yourself."

"Max please," Carter begs, pulling on my arm.

I ignore her. All my attention is on Nolan's answer. My vision is a fuzzy red haze. How dare he! How unbelievably sexist!

"You heard what I said," He grunts. And get this. That boy swung at me. Like he actually swung. Now get this. He swung so quickly and powerfully that I didn't duck in time. He caught me right in the lip, and blood immediately filled my mouth.

Behind me, Carter starts screaming and sobbing for help, knowing what's next.

My fist strikes out immediately, and Nolan stumbles backward but doesn't fall. I decided he must be enhanced, which means I don't have to go easy on him.

I go on the offensive, making him back away from me. My foot shoots out, a well-placed kick to the knee. His legs give out and he falls to the ground. Perfect. I jump on top of him hastily, aware that people are running over to answer Carter's cries for help. They will break up the fight, and I'm not walking away from this guy until I can make sure he remembers just who Maximum Ride is.

I straddle his waist and let fly. Five good ones. Yeah, he's going to be feeling that for a while.

I'm still doing what I do when strong arms grab me under the armpits and lift me off of Nolan. I turn to see that it's Dylan. The second he sets me down, I lunge for Nolan again, blinded by intense rage.

Dylan goes to stop me, but Fang is quicker, wrapping my waist in a tight grip. "Let me go," I growl, twisting in his arms. The only thing that matters is beating the crap out of this kid.

"You touch her again, and I'll make it ten times worse," I threaten, my words directed at Nolan, who is shakily getting to his feet.

Fang catches sight of the blood running down my chin, and I see the anger light in his dark eyes.

Nolan actually has the audacity to come at me again. Dylan immediately meets him halfway, bowing up to him. Fang passes me off to Iggy in case I try to run at the kid again and steps up beside Dylan, radiating anger. Nolan assesses Fang. "That's your girl right? You better keep her on a leash. I like my dogs nice and trained."

Fang's jaw clenches, and I'm afraid for a moment that he might deck the kid himself. Thankfully, Dylan stops him, pushing Nolan over to his truck. "Just get outta here, man."

Luckily, Nolan gets into his truck, and we all watch as he barrels away.

Fang immediately turns, coming back to check on me. His hand reaches out to brush some blood off my chin, but I shake my head, duck past him. I find Carter curled into a ball, sobbing on the ground. I grab her arm, pull her roughly to her feet. "Come on. You're staying here tonight, and we're telling your parents in the morning. Enough is enough."

I drag her behind me through the back door. Mom is standing in the kitchen surrounded by tons of other adult guests, but she immediately catches sight of us.

"Max! What happened?" She cries, rushing over to me.

"Ask them," I growl, continuing to the stairs. One of the flock members or one of my other friends can fill her in.

Carter sniffles as I drag her up the stairs and into my room. She sits on the bed, and I angrily pace in front of her.

"Please calm down," Carter whispers to me.

"I am calm," I snap.

Carter shrinks back and stays quiet, letting me pace for about two more minutes.

"It's just, God, what are you doing with a guy like that?" I ask her desperately. "He could have hurt you! _Did_ he hurt you?"

Carter shakes her head. "He's not like that when he's sober."

"Don't. Don't you dare stick up for him. That guy is no good."

She hesitates before nodding. "You're right."

I sigh, go over to my dresser and pull out some pajamas for her. "Go shower. Clean yourself up. Get yourself together. Then, you're going to come in here and go to bed, and when we wake up in the morning we're going straight to your parents' house. We clear?"

She takes the clothes with trembling fingers. "Thanks," she murmurs, before silently walking out my door.

I sit down on the bed, drop my head into my hands. I hear car doors slamming down below and decide that Mom has probably shut down the party.

I look up when Iggy pokes his head in my door. "You okay, Max?"

"Fine."

He's silent for a moment before he walks into my room. "Did you give it to him good?"

"Of course," I tell him. "Don't I always?"

Iggy snorts. "Yeah I suppose… What a jerk."

"Understatement…. Where's Fang?"

"Downstairs, cooling off. He's pretty pissed," Iggy admits, drumming his long fingers on my dresser.

I nod, feeling guilty. I ruined such a great night. "I should go find him."

Iggy nods. "You sure you're okay?"

I lift his fingers to my face, let him examine where I got hit.

"Pretty swollen, but nothing feels broken," He says after a moment.

"Told you I was fine," I call back as I walk out my door.

* * *

I find Fang standing on the outdoor patio, arms crossed, expression unreadable. The party is mostly cleared out, only a few remaining guests linger inside gathering their things.

I slide the glass door open, step out into the night air.

"You okay?" I ask mildly.

He turns to me. "You're asking me if I'm okay? I'm not the one who got hit, Max," He replies, bitterly.

I start to answer but he hushes me, lifts the hem of his shirt and dabs it against my chin. Shoot. How dumb of me to forget about my blood crusted chin.

Fang stops brushing his shirt over my mouth, brings his hands up to hold my face. For a moment, I think he's going to kiss me, but he doesn't. I realize that his fingers are probing.

"Nothing's broken. He didn't even hit me that hard," I tell him earnestly, and finally, he drops his hands.

"I'm sorry," He murmurs, eyes trained on something in the distance.

"For what?"

"Sorry I wasn't there," He swallows. "Again."

My hands come up, roughly grab his face, force him to look at me. "If you don't stop blaming yourself for everything that happens to me, Fang, I swear to God, I'm going to teach you a lesson… Don't' make me teach you a lesson. You know you don't want that."

He half-smiles softly into my hand. "Guess not."

* * *

"What are you thinking about? You're a million miles away," Fang murmurs later that night. I had put Carter into my bed, and she was out within minutes, taking up the whole dang bed… which is how I found myself creeping down to Fang's room, snuggling up under his comforter, and curling myself in to his side. There is no TV tonight, just us and our thoughts.

I sigh. "In the morning, I'm going with Carter to tell her folks what she's been up to."

"Joy," Fang says sarcastically, playing with my fingers.

I shrug. "I'm just happy she's willing to tell them at all."

I shoot upright in bed when I remember something I had meant to talk to Fang about, something that frankly scared the piss out of me. "Nudge asked me about sex," I say slowly.

Fang's eyes snap up to mine. "What did you say?"

"Well, I told her the basics obviously, but I told her that I forbade her to even think about it after we were done with the conversation…. You don't think she'd…" I leave the sentence dangling in midair.

"Nah," Fang answers immediately, and the confidence in his voice makes feel a little better. "She won't. She's just a little girl, Max. She's curious, that's all."

I breathe out, squeezing the bridge of my nose as if I can squeeze out the stress. "Just caught me off guard, I guess."

"Come here," Fang murmurs, pulling me back down to him. He grabs my arm, pulls until every part of me is flattened out against him. "Try and get some sleep." He presses a feather light kiss to my busted lip.

"All better," I whisper, a smile in my voice.


	38. Chapter 38

**New chapter is here! And relatively on time! Wooo! Your welcome! It's a little uneventful. There isn't really any action. It's more on normal teenage life as a bird-kid which is pretty fun to write. I really hope you enjoy it. Review and tell me your thoughts. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Also, one other completely irrelevant thing. Do any of you have an Instagram? I'm relatively new to Instagram and not many people at my school have one, so I am lacking in the followers department. I was thinking… what better followers could I have than my fellow fanfictioners!? I love my readers! Sooooo FOLLOW ME! _ karleighmae15_**

**Or don't! It's okay if you don't! I'll still love you, just thought I'd throw that out there.**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

**KarleeRay**

"Will you do the talking?" Carter's voice trembles with nerves. I look over to see her picking anxiously at her fingernails.

I return my eyes to the road, doing my best to concentrate because, well, we all know how great a driver I am… Before you ask, no I do not have my license. Sue me. It's not the first time I've broken the law.

"I'll help you where I think you need it," I say finally. "But they aren't going to want to hear it from me. They'll want it straight from the source." I sound as if I know exactly what is about to happen, but to be honest, I don't. Years of leading five goofy 'ole bird kids taught me to always sound confident when I speak, even if I'm not. I don't know what Carter's parents will say. I've never brought an addict out of the closet, so to speak. But I'm leading this girl to do the right thing, and it will soothe her mind if I sound like I have a clue what I'm leading her to.

Carter takes a shaky breath as I maneuver Austin's truck into her driveway. I put the thing in park, slide out the driver side door before Carter can change her mind about the whole thing. I wait impatiently as she slinks out of the passenger side, trots up to me, takes my hand in hers.

"Come on. Chin up. You aren't going in here looking like a lost puppy. You know what you're here to do. You have a mission. Nothing else matters," I tell her, feeling serious déjà vu. How many times had I said that to a flock member when we were on the run? How many times had I, myself, been told that?

Carter swallows, gives a tiny nod, and I march us up the stairs. I start to ring the doorbell but Carter gives a wry smile. "This is my house, Max. I'm not required to ring my own doorbell."

I snort. "Guess you're right."

Her smile vanishes as she pushes open the front door, steps inside. "Mom! I'm home!" She calls. "Max is with me!"

Misses McCoy emerges from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She comes right up to me, pulls me into a hug. She's so much like Carter, with the straight-forwardness and all. "Max! I feel like it's been forever since I've seen your face around here!" She pulls back to beam at me. Carter really is the spitting image of her, with the jet black hair and icy blue eyes. "Come on. Come on. I have potato soup on the burner. You know Mister McCoy, never one for breakfast foods."

We follow her into the kitchen, sit on the barstools at the island. I give Carter a reassuring glance, encourage her to sit up straighter, stop looking like she's carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders… Because I know what that's like, and honey, this can't even compare.

Misses McCoy places an enormous bowl of potato soup in front of me (I've been to this house enough for her to pick up on my eating habits), and a considerably smaller bowl in front of Carter who wrinkles her nose. "No thanks, Mom. Not really hungry."

"Did you already eat?"

Carter swallows, looks into her mother's eyes. "Not but is Dad here? We need to talk."

Misses McCoy gives her daughter a lasting look before starting towards the stairs. "I'll bring your father down."

Carter looks at me desperately. "Max you have to do the talking. I can't do this. I don't want to do this. I change my mind. I'll get help on my own. Please. Let's just go."

I shake my head at her, wolfing down bites of potato soup. "This is the right thing to do," I tell her, trying not to spray. "You're doing it. You can't back out now."

She starts to protest again but is cut off by the entrance of her concerned parents.

"What is it, baby?" Misses McCoy asks, looking as if she almost doesn't want to know.

"Maybe we should all sit, take this to the table," I say, gathering my food and heading to the kitchen table.

Carter sits beside me, and her parents sit down gingerly across from us.

A tense silence fills the air, and Carter shoots me a look full of panic. She nudges my foot under the table as if to say, '_help me'_.

I ignore her, stirring my soup around, seeking out more bacon bits. She needs to do this herself.

Finally, Carter opens her mouth. "I….. need help."

I give her a look that says '_Really? That's all you got?'._

Fine. Jeez. Do I have to do everything around here? "Carter has been… having some problems lately… that I think you need to know about," I say slowly, trying to find the right words, the least harmful way to bring about harmful news.

"What kind of problems?" Mister McCoy demands, confusion coloring his distinct features.

I glance at Carter, praying that she'll find her lady balls. Thankfully, she seems to have recovered herself somewhat, and she speaks. "I've been lying to you guys, saying that I went to Max's. Really I've been going to a friend's house across town. They throw really legit parties," She explains as if that makes it all okay. "Um… I did some bad stuff at the parties… I'm not pregnant or anything. Really it was just a few drinks a night…"

Misses McCoy looks appalled. She touches a hand to her heart, staring at her daughter as if she doesn't know who she is. "How could you Carter? We trusted you!"

Mister McCoy just sits back in his chair, crosses his arms over his chest as if he knows there's more to the story.

Carter ignores her mother, plows right on through. "A few drinks at night turned into a few drinks in the morning, a few in the afternoon, and a few more at night. I don't know how it progressed like that without me seeing it, but it did." She breaks off, glances nervously at me. I nod, and she continues, "I tried weed when I was drunk… It was alright. I liked it so I kept doing it… Now I do oxy and ecstasy also… a little crank, I mean meth."

Misses McCoy begins to cry, and Mister McCoy just stares at Carter. He's visibly upset but looks as if part of him suspected this.

Misses McCoy opens her mouth, face twisted in outrage, but Carter cuts her off. "Look I came here so that you guys could get me help! I know it was wrong! I would take it back if I could, but I can't, and you're my parents so just… just help me!"

Not fazed by Carter's desperation, Misses McCoy opens her mouth again to let Carter have it, but she stops, looks at me. "I assume this is your doing, bringing Carter to do the right thing, and I thank you for that. You're a good friend, Max. Carter is fortunate enough to have you, but you shouldn't have to get involved in this. I'll walk you out."

I pat Carter's arm encouragingly as I stand, follow Misses McCoy to the front door. "Thank you," She whispers again. "We'll keep you updated."

* * *

"She said she'd keep me posted, but she hasn't even texted me yet! I left at nine this morning! It's 2:30!" I complain to Fang as we walk out of our Basic Hand to Hand Combat Class. We are both drenched in sweat. We'd taken full advantage of "Sparring Day", picking each other as our partners and letting the other have it, full force. I was extremely pleased to see that Fang also felt that because our relationship was more intimate now did not mean to take it easy on the other. When we fought, we fought to win and to make the other better. No cushioning here.

"Look what you did to me!" I accuse, lifting my shirt to show the big purple bruise already forming over my ribs.

Fang shrugs. "You asked for it with that blow to my head. You almost knocked me out."

I glare at him. "I did not."

He simply stares at me.

"Whatever. Why hasn't Carter's mom texted me?!" I demand.

"Maybe she's busy." He slings an arm around my shoulder, pulls my sweaty body close to him as we walk among the mass of students doing their best to get out of the school as fast as possible. I don't miss the way people stare at us, examine the way we interact with each other. Jealousy hangs plainly on some of their faces, loneliness on others'.

"Or maybe she's not going to text me at all. Maybe she just wants me to get lost forever…. Maybe she thinks I'm the one who get Carter into all this stuff!" I exclaim, feeling sort of nauseous and claustrophobic.

Fang chuckles softly as we walk out the front doors of the school. "Stop it, Max."

"_You_ stop it," I counter. He's not really doing anything, but it was the best I could come up with at the moment.

Outside, I scan the groups of kids looking for Nudge, Iggy, and Ella.

"Max!" Nudge yells, squirming through the crowds to get to me.

"Hey sweetie." She wraps my waist in a hug but recoils quickly.

"Yuck! Who was your partner? They must have been good if you're that sweaty!" Nudge trills.

I point to Fang. "Eh, he aight."

She giggles.

"Come on," Fang says. "I see Iggy and Ella."

We follow him through the mass of students until we find Ella and Iggy, standing tensely beside each other, not touching, not talking. Weird. They were usually so lovey-dovey.

Together we walk to the curb, wait for Mom's van to come into view.

I pull Ella away out of earshot of the group, and Nudge follows.

"Everything okay with you and Iggy?" I ask lowly.

"Yeah I thought that was pretty weird too, Max," Nudge pipes up. She turns to Ella. "Usually we can't get you two off of each other and then we walk up and you aren't even looking at each other. It's just so so… not Ella and Iggy, you know what I mean?"

Ella scowls as Mom pulls up beside us. "I'll tell you later."

* * *

"Okay spill," I order Ella, flopping down on her bed. She sighs, pauses the TV.

"There's nothing to spill really…"

I roll my eyes. "Are we sisters or not?"

Her shoulders sag. She hates that line, makes her feel guilty. "Look it's just embarrassing, okay?"

I roll onto my back, form shooting my basketball in the air over and over again. "Since when are you embarrassed in front of me?"

Ella sighs. "Fine. Okay. I just don't want you to feel weird because… I don't know. Iggy's like your brother or whatever."

"Go on," I tell her.

"It's nothing really… I'm not even mad at him…." She pauses. "Well okay look, we were making out okay, which is nothing new, but things went a little…. Far."

I nod, pretend like the thought of Iggy having sex isn't absolutely absurd to me. It shouldn't be. He's a teenage boy, and he had always been the most sexist of the flock. Still, the idea seems insane. "Did you do it?"

Ella huffs. "Well we were making out, and he took my shirt off and it was fine. I took his off too, but when he reached down to unbutton my jeans… I don't know, Max. I freaked! I started yelling at him like he had done something wrong! I had no reason to be mad, but I flipped out on the kid!" Ella stands, begins to pace. "It shouldn't have been a surprise to me. We've been dating for a while. I love him. People who are in love _show _their love. It just caught me off guard, I guess…. But I let him have it, Max! I really did! I even accused him of only wanting to be with me for sex… which is ridiculous, I know," She adds, after I opened my mouth to defend Iggy against that last statement. Iggy is my brother, and I protect my own. "I don't know. We haven't really talked since then, and what you guys walked up on today was just an awkward silence." "Ella, if you aren't ready then you aren't ready," I tell her softly.

"But I am ready…. At least I think I am. I don't know! How did you know you were ready?"

I blink, feeling my face begin to heat. How the hell did Ella know? I hadn't told anyone, not even Mom, though I was fairly sure she knew.

"Oh, please! Give me some credit, Max!" Ella exclaims. "You may be hard to read, but it's like girl code. I read the signs, no matter how secretive they were…. And don't worry. I kept my mouth shut."

I sigh, deciding that it wasn't the end of the world that she knew. "Well, I can tell you this. If you have to ask if you're ready, then you're not ready. I didn't have any doubts when I… well… um my first time."

"Really?" Ella asks. "None?"

I nod. "None at all. It just felt right…" God this is so weird. I don't think I'll ever get used to 'girl talk'.

Ella is quiet for a moment, but her face is full of questions.

"Go on." I say because _what the hey_? She already knows. "Ask."

"Did it hurt?" She asks, anxiously. "I've heard it does."

I shrug. "Yeah, well kind of, but not for too long… I have a high pain tolerance though so I'm probably not the best person to ask."

Ella nods, soaking in information.

"Alright I'm done here," I say, getting up off the bed. "I'll never get used to girl talk….." I turn to walk out the door.

"But I have more questions!" Ella complains.

"Maybe later…." I consent. "Oh, and Ella? Tell Iggy you aren't ready. He'll understand."

* * *

_**Fang POV**_

"I don't know, man. Everything was going good, great actually, but I went to take her pants off and she flipped…" Iggy whined, sitting on the edge of Fang's bed. "I mean I thought she was into it. I thought we were on the same page."

Fang frowned. He didn't know what to tell Iggy. Girls were a mystery, puzzles with no clear answers. Fang's mind wandered to Max as it often did. He thought of their first time, of how there were no doubts. Max hadn't flipped out when Fang took off her jeans. They had been completely in sync, on the exact same page, as they always were.

"Fang! Are you listening?" Iggy asked, raising his sightless eyes.

"Yep."

"Well what am I supposed to do? I wasn't trying to pressure her. We didn't have to have sex. I mean, I wanted to. Oh God, I wanted to, but if I thought that she didn't want to, I never would have taken it that far!"

Fang sighed, thinking hard for Iggy's benefit. "I don't know, dude. Maybe she just wasn't ready and didn't know how to… reject you."

Iggy scowled. "So what now?"

"Just talk to her," Fang answered.

"What's it like?" Iggy asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Sex," Iggy said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Fang supposed he shouldn't be surprised that Iggy knew about he and Max. Next to Max, Iggy knew Fang best. Plus, he was a teenage boy. He understood on a better level than the others.

Fang considered his answer. Finally, he smirked. "Let's just say… It's exactly what it's cranked up to be… and maybe even a little more."

Iggy practically salivated. Fang watched as he threw his head back and groaned. "I just had to pick a girl with morals."

Fang smirked. "Your day will come."

"Hell yeah it will," Iggy confirmed.

Fang could scarcely make out the sound of Max's voice in Ella's room, and he wondered if Max was in the same situation as he was, considering that Ella probably had stuff to spill about their fight too. It was almost a tease, hearing her near, but not being able to see her, to touch her.

Fang shook his head at himself. Whipped. He was 100% whipped. Macho Man Fang. Totally whipped.

Who woulda ever thought?


	39. Chapter 39

**Hey there, beautiful people! I realize it has been a while, but I actually have an excuse. My computer totally crashed on me! Bummerrrr! Yeah but anyway my parents bought me a laptop to replace my computer, but they forgot to get Microsoft Office! Eek. So that delayed me even more. But I'm back now and I'm here to stay!**

**This chapter I feel may be a little below expectations, but just bear with me here. I have to get my bearing back. Either way, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! And let me know what you think! Your opinions are valued!**

**KarleeRay**

"Here," I say. "Just let me do it." I pluck the massacred orange from Gazzy's fingers and begin peeling it for him. "Look you can't just dig your finger into the center. You're trying to _peel_ it, not kill it."

The Gasman gives me a hearty grin before retrieving the strawberries from the fridge. Mom had made a fruit salad snack for us bird kids not too long ago, and Gazzy fell in love with the stuff, calls it "refreshing". Whatever. I'm not complaining. At least it's something healthy.

He bites a strawberry in half, leaving a trail of red juice rolling down his chin. "mmmm"

"Where's Iggy? I bet he would make you some awesome fruit dip," I offer, starting to slice some apples.

"He's talking to Ella." Gazzy makes a face. He has never been the biggest fan of their relationship. He's an eight year old kid who doesn't understand why his best friend doesn't have enough time for him anymore.

"You know he loves you, Gaz. He's just busy, that's all. You know? Big kid stuff." I drop my slices into the bowl, start washing the grapes in the sink.

Gazzy stares at me for a moment, small mouth quivering, before his face gets angry. "Whatever. I don't care."

I give him a reprimanding look.

"What?" He demands. "He doesn't care about me, I don't care about him."

I start to protest that this was not the case at all, but a knock at the door stops me.

I suck in a breath, pin Gazzy under my gaze. "This conversation isn't over," I tell him, wiping my hands on my sweatpants and heading to get the door.

I fling open the front door to find Carter. It's been three days since I took her to confess to her parents. I had given up hope that I would even hear from them until Carter was better.

"Hi," She says shakily.

I take in her messy bun, broken eyes.

"I just came to say goodbye." She gives me a small smile.

I lean against the door frame. "Where are you going?"

"There's a rehab facility on the edge of town. It's the only one, so I'll probably be in there with a bunch of old crazies." She gives a small, miserable chuckle. "Anyway, I'll be there for the next couple of months."

I study her, read her body language. "Are you okay with this?"

She sighs, glances quickly at her mother's car, waiting in the driveway. "It doesn't really matter what I want…"

"I didn't ask you what you wanted. I asked how you felt about it."

Carter swallows, gives a tiny nod. "Honestly, I think this is ridiculous. I'm not an addict. I don't belong there…" She sighs heavily. "Will you cover for me at school? Tell them I went to stay with some family friends for a while? I don't know. Just say something. You're good at lying."

I smirk. "Sure, sure."

She glances back at the waiting vehicle. "Well… I'll miss you while I'm gone. Try not to replace me?"

She pulls me into a fierce hug, and I hug her back just as fiercely, praying that things go well for her.

"Never," I murmur.

* * *

"Don't look so happy to be in my presence." Kace smirks as I sit down beside him at the lab table. He was moved into our class today, and Mister Chanel thought I would be the perfect candidate to show him the ropes of the lab, taking Fang away as my partner.

"You hush," I growl. "I'm so not in the mood." As if to prove my point, my stomach does a flip flop, sending waves of nausea through my body.

"You're never in the mood," He says simply. "Or so you say you aren't, but I'm beginning to think the whole thing is just a cry for my attention."

"You have quite the imagination," I commend, pulling latex gloves onto my hands. I close my eyes for a moment, ignore the way my stomach is raging.

"You okay, partner? You're looking a little green around the edges," Kace comments, examining my face intently.

I take a breath. "Look, you worry about you, and I'll worry about me. Got it?"

Kace shrugs. "Fair enough."

I sit extremely still for the next minute, praying that my stomach calms down. My heart begins to thump slightly, and I know I'm going to be sick. I stand quickly, jog across the room, grab the bathroom pass, and sprint down the hallway with my hand clamped over my mouth. I barge into a stall just in time to empty the contents of my stomach.

When I'm finished, I lean back against the stall door, allow myself to catch my breath. I blow my nose on some toilet paper and wipe the sweat from my forehead. Taking a deep breath, I realize I feel a lot better. The mirror disagrees, showing off a pale face and miserable eyes.

I decide I feel well enough to return to class, so I wash my mouth out in the sink, pop a piece of gum, and walk back down the hallway.

All eyes turn to me as I enter the door.

"Everything okay, Miss Ride?" Mister Chanel asks.

"All good," I mutter, going to sit down at my lab table. I feel Fang's gaze on me, but it can wait.

Kace stares at me as I sit down. "Think you're pregnant?" He asks suddenly.

I snort. "Get outta here."

He shrugs. "If you say so."

The thought is so ridiculous that I immediately dismiss it. Pregnant? Me? Haha.

Fang catches me on the way to lunch. "Hey Max! Max. Hey what happened in class?"

"What? Oh, yeah I don't know. I just got sick." I shrug.

Fang frowns. "But you're okay now?"

"Yeah." I give him a smile to prove my point, but he doesn't look convinced.

"You didn't have a head thing, did you? Think you should see a doctor?" He drapes a protective arm across my shoulders.

"Why because I'm dying? Or maybe I'm pregnant?" I joke.

Fang goes completely rigid beside me. His eyes travel to my face. "What?"

"It was a joke, Fang. Relax." I chuckle.

"Why would you say something like that?" He persists.

I stare at him, try to read him the way I've been doing since he was… born practically. "Kace said something about it after I came back in the classroom. Ridiculous, right?" I grin at him as we walk into the cafeteria.

"is it?" Fang asks, stopping me by the trashcans so we can continue this conversation before we reach our table of friends.

"Is it what? Come on, Fang. I'm starving. I lost a whole meal this morning, and all I want to do is eat," I complain, looking over his shoulder to see what they're serving in the lunch lines.

"Is it ridiculous? I mean really?" He stares intently into my eyes, and I realize what he's asking.

I falter. Just for a second, but I know he sees it.

"I- It's ridiculous, Fang." I reach for his hands, wrap them around my waist. "I promise."

He nods, kisses my forehead before leading us over to where our friends are waiting.

* * *

"I'm coming in, decent or not," Fang calls, walking into the bathroom.

I try to stand before he can see me, but I'm not fast enough so I just stay there, on my knees in front of the toilet. Concern flashes in his eyes, so I give him a small smile. "Must have been that awful cafeteria food."

I expect him to chuckle, smirk, something, but he doesn't. He's all serious.

I turn back to the toilet, sit still until I'm fairly sure nothing more is coming up. I stand and brush him out of the way, grabbing my toothbrush and shoving it into my mouth.

I notice him standing rigidly, arms behind his back. "What's that?" I ask around a mouthful of toothpaste.

He takes a grocery bag from behind his back, places it on the counter. I raise my eyebrows at him, waiting for him to reveal the mysterious object.

His jaw tightens as he takes the box out of the bag. I turn to spit into the sink, and when I look back I find him holding a pregnancy test in his hands.

"What the hell is that?" I ask calmly, but my voice is filled with tension.

He shrugs, as if the answer is obvious.

"Why are you taking this so seriously?" I hiss. "I told you it was ridiculous! God, what is wrong with the good old fashioned stomach virus? I'm not immune, you know! There doesn't always have to be something more to the picture!"

"You hesitated," He says, determined. "I asked you if it was ridiculous, and you hesitated, Max!"

"I did not," I insist, though it was clear that I had.

Fang softens. "Please. Just- just do it. It'll give me some peace of mind. Don't turn your face away just because you're scared. If this is real, then we need to know."

"I'm not scared! This is just stupid!"

He places his hands on either side of my cheeks. "Please," He whispers. "I have to know."

I throw my head back, sigh. "Fine. Open it."

I watch as Fang opens the box with slightly trembling fingers, and I realize that he thinks there's actually a possibility that I'm pregnant…. But it's impossible right? We took all the precautions….

A tiny flutter of fear starts in my stomach, and I swallow hard. What if those precautions weren't enough? I can't be pregnant. I can't.

Fang turns to hand me the test with a taut jaw.

"Okay, get out," I tell him.

"Why?"

I huff. "Fine. Just turn around."

I squat down over the toilet and pee on the end of the stick. Silently, I pull my pants back up, place the test on the counter.

Two minutes. Everything could change in two minutes.

The thought is too much for me to handle, so I go over to Fang, wrap my arms around his waist from behind. "I'm sure it's fine," I whisper.

He turns in my arms. "I just need to know."

I nod, and he tucks me into his chest. We stand there for the next two minutes, knowing that we'll be okay as long as we have each other.

"It's been two at least, right?" I ask, hesitantly.

Fang grimaces. "Longest two minutes ever."

I walk toward the counter, my heart thundering in my chest. Please. Please. Please. Let me have been right.

I take a breath, try to slow my breathing, before I flip the stick over.

I almost faint right then and there.

_**NOT PREGNANT.**_

I smirk. I have got to stop doubting myself. I'm Maximum Ride. I'm always right.

**HAHA! Had you going there didn't I? Review! Tell me what you think!**


	40. Chapter 40

**Well, well, well! Look who's back, beautiful people?! FINALLY! I know it's been about two weeks since my last update, but life just kept on getting in the way! I tried to write in my spare time over Spring Break, but my Spring Break was absolutely, perfectly, INSANE! Anyway, I'm back now, and I hope you all are still with me?! Your reviews have been amazing! So keep them coming!**

**I had a lot of questions about a false negative from the last chapter, and I just wanted to make it clear that, no, _Max is NOT pregnant!_ The test was completely accurate!**

**I'm thinking of starting another fanfiction on Fang's Blog. No, I am not ditching this story, but I think it could be fun to work on other stuff at this same time. Basketball season is over and I have a lot more free time! I don't know, what do you guys think? I think it could be fun to write from Fang's point of view! Kind of difficult, but fun.**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter! _REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!_**

**KarleeRay**

"Maybe if you would stop fiddling with your guitar we would actually get some of this done," I snap, patience running thin. "It's already seven. They locked up two whole hours ago. We're lucky they even let us stay."

Kace glances up at me from his guitar. "Maybe if you would stop worrying so much about getting done, you would be able to find a way to get started… Besides, the best ideas come when you're relaxed."

I groan out loud. "Stop with the words of wisdom."

Kace shrugs, ignoring me. My mind races with ideas for our science project, but none of them jump out at me. Science has never exactly been my thing, and my grade is proof of that. This project could make or break me.

Silence coats the air around us, each of us lost in thought.

"I assume you got things figured out with Fang," Kace murmurs suddenly, fingers lightly skimming his guitar strings.

I look up in surprise. "What do you mean?"

He levels me with a skeptical gaze.

I shrug, pretending like I don't catch his drift. See the tricky thing with Kace is that the boy is so perceptive. Things that no one would think twice about, Kace has racked inside his brain, waiting for later use. Problem here is that Kace was the one who mentioned pregnancy to me. Of course, I brushed him off, but he was skeptical even then. The second problem is that after Fang and I had the pregnancy scare, we were practically attached at the hip for the next couple of days, needing the other close. Kace had to have noticed. Maybe he got the wrong idea.

"Fang and I are fine," I say finally.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," He fires back calmly.

I sigh. "I'm not pregnant if that's what you're asking."

He stares at me for a long while with an expression on his face that I can't quite place. "Congratulations."

My jaw tightens. "We're here for academic reasons. My personal life is none of your concern."

"Touche," he says agreeably.

And I'm left feeling infuriated by him. Like always.

* * *

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever get home," Fang calls as I walk in the front door.

I find him seated at the bar in the kitchen, wolfing down a can of ravioli. I shrug. "You know Kace. Never one to cooperate."

"Ah, sounds like someone else I know."

I smirk as I brush the hair off the back of his neck, bring my parted lips to his soft skin.

He gives a slight shiver. "You really know how to give a perfect hello."

I nod into him, flick my tongue out against his skin. He groans low in his throat before pushing me away and standing to take his bowl to the sink. "Tease," He mutters under his breath, making me smirk.

I hop up onto the counter. "Everyone else asleep?"

"Nudge is in the shower, Gazzy's in the other one. Angel's been down for hours. She wasn't feeling well. Ella and Iggy are… God knows where."

I smile. "I'm just glad they're back on good terms. Ella gave me an ear full… Gimmie some of that," I command, pointing to some leftover lasagna.

Fang gives me a sour look before heating my food in the microwave and handing it over to me. "You think you got an ear full? You should have heard Iggy's side of the story."

I laugh softly. "Nooo thanks."

Fang studies me quietly while I eat.

"What?" I ask around a mouthful of food.

"You okay? I mean after….. everything?" He asks slowly.

I finish chewing my food and then swallow hard. "Yeah… I think I'm good."

He nods.

"What about you? Are you alright?" I ask, suddenly feeling like a bad girlfriend for not worrying more about his feelings. For me, the pregnancy scare was never really a huge deal, and it was easy to forget about. I'm not pregnant, and it's in the past. Fang, however, had taken the scare harder than me.

He shrugs, and that's when I know.

I hop off the counter, hug him from behind. I know there's nothing I can say to make him feel any better and probing with Fang is never a good idea. If he wants to talk about it, he will. The only thing I can do is be there for him.

We all know Fang isn't the biggest on opening up, so I am surprised when he opens his mouth. "I can't be a dad, Max," He whispers. "Not yet."

For some reason, his words strike me in the heart, and I get a lump in my throat. I turn him slowly to face me. "Hey… look at me." I reach out and grab his chin. "You don't have to worry about that, not until you're ready. We're going to be extra careful from now on, okay? We aren't getting pregnant unless we plan on it. I promise." I kiss his lips quickly and then pull him into a tight hug. His arms wind around my tiny torso and then tighten, pressing me against him. "I promise," I whisper again.

* * *

"Nudge," I say gently. "You should eat." I reach out and pat her comfortingly on the arm though my patience with the matter is running thin. Her head comes up off of the lunch table.

"I don't want to," She mumbles. She looks at me through puffy eyes, eyes that have been crying nonstop since Tuesday night when Jett decided that they were not compatible. Nudge was taking the breakup extremely hard, and I mean _extremely_.

I begin to press on, tell her that just because some stupid boy doesn't like her anymore does not mean she should starve herself, but Fang stops me with a hand to my leg. I look at him, and he gives his head a tiny shake.

One of Nudge's friends speaks up. "You don't need him Nudge. You can do so much better."

I wave my hand at her. "Give the girl a prize," I mutter, and Fang's grip on my thigh tightens, a warning.

I sigh. "I'm gonna go get my shorts out of the dressing room. These jeans are so uncomfortable." I shoot Nudge a death glare since the only reason I was wearing said "uncomfortable jeans" was because it was supposed to brighten her day just a tad and maybe, just maybe, get her to stop with the waterworks. I understand that she liked the kid but enough is enough. It's not like they were going to get married. Tough lesson, babe. Life goes on, and you gotta go with it.

I stand, sling my backpack over my shoulders, and say goodbye to the lunch table before turning and walking out into the empty main hallway.

Or, it was supposed to be empty. Apparently not today. I look up and then down one of the side halls when I hear voices.

"Aren't you just adorable?" I hear a male voice sneer. Several loud obnoxious guffaws follow.

I'm totally aware that ease dropping is wrong, but if you would all remember correctly, I have an impeccable sense of paranoia and something here was just a little bit… off.

I turn down the side hall, creep closer until I can see the scene before me. Three bigger jock looking guys surrounding a smaller nerdy looking kid. Figures. Why oh why do the strong always pick on the weak?

My blood begins to boil, but I decide that I should stay put and see what happens. I'll step in if I need to, but I'm not exactly in the principle's good graces at the moment.

One of the bigger guys takes out a folded piece of paper and begins to read in a high-pitched squeaky voice. "The thing is, I love you Alexandra. I've loved you since the day I saw you. Your red hair is the fire that burns in my sweetest dreams." The guy reading stops, looks up at the smaller kid with the glasses who is shrinking back against the wall, cheeks flaming with humiliation.

It is literally painful for me to stand back and watch this. It goes against every single one of my values, but I can't keep getting into trouble at school unless it is absolutely necessary.

I look at the poor kid, take in how the guys were sneering at him, and re-think what the guy read inside my head. That's when it clicks. _I love you, Alexandra… your red hair._ No. Oh no. Not just an Alexandra, _the_ Alexandra, as in my old nemesis, the one who was gunning for Fang at the beginning of the year. It looks to me like this smaller kid wrote a love letter to that retched Red Head. Why kid? Why her? You should have known.

"Dude seriously? Is this serious?" One of the jocks lets out a big echoing laugh. "She is way out of your league, bro."

"Yeah. Dude she's hot and you're… well you're you!" More cruel laughter.

I'm not surprised at all by that. What I am surprised by is the flash of murderous anger in the little guy's eyes. Before I can even blink, he lashes out, throws a badly aimed, weak punch to the guy standing the closest to him. His swing didn't do any real damage except that it turned the confrontation violent. The guy that got hit growls loudly and doesn't hesitate before he throws a punch of his own, nothing special, no enhancement there, but perfectly aimed and with decent power. The nerd's head snaps backward, a stream of blood spurting from his nose. His glasses fly off as he falls backwards against the lockers, slumps to the floor.

He's still conscious and that's enough for the other boys. They swoop in all at once kicking and hitting. Three on one. No freaking way. Not on my watch.

I spring up from my hiding place, and it takes me all but a few seconds to sprint down the long hallway. I snatch one of the guys by the back of his shirt. He gags, and I let the momentum of my jerk send him into the wall behind me.

"Get off him," I growl, slinging a punch of my own. The other two seem to just now realize that I'm standing here. I jerk both of them backward by the necks of their shirts. They start to argue, but then seem to realize who I am.

They back away as one, sending deadly glares at the smaller kid, slumped over on the ground.

"Get out of here! Go before I handle you myself!" I snarl, puffing out my chest. Slight fear flashes in their eyes, and muttering under their breaths, they turn and leave, one of them sporting a nice little broken nose.

Once I'm sure they're gone, I crouch down beside the boy. "Hey, you okay?"

I touch his arm comfortingly, but he jerks it away. "You shouldn't have done that," He says lowly, not meeting my eye.

I swallow, sit back on my heels. In a way, I get it. What guy wants a girl to be his knight in shining armor? On the other hand, I don't get it, and it makes me kind of angry. Why should a guy be able to swoop in and save a girl, but not the other way around? It's sexist, really.

I reach over, pick up his glasses. They aren't broken thankfully, and I wipe the blood from the lens before placing them in his lap. I sigh, pull my t-shirt over my head, leaving me in a black tank top. "Here," I murmur, handing him my balled up sweatshirt. "Clean yourself up before they let lunch out."

He shakes his head. "I don't need that. I'm fine."

I roll my eyes. "Put away your pride and use the shirt. Do you really want everyone to see that you got your ass handed to you?"

"It wouldn't matter," He whispers brokenly, eyes glued to the floor. "I'm still a freak in a world full of actual freaks."

I don't take offense to his referral to the enhanced people as freaks. It's true. We are freaks. But we are also exceptional and beautiful. Nudge once called us "poetry in motion", and I couldn't agree more.

I stand, deciding the he doesn't want my help.

"You shouldn't have done that," he says again, bloodshot eyes flickering up to mine for the first time.

"Three on one isn't a fair fight," I say simply.

"Nothing is ever fair," He mutters. "Aren't you the one who said that?"

My eyes flash to his, narrow.

"I'm Agent Dean Mickelson's son. He told me about the conversation you had with him at the hospital. You were right in what you said. Nothing is ever fair," He explains, no emotion in is voice, just a dead monotone.

I balk. It's a small world after all could not be more accurate. First Lissa, and now this kid. Mind=blown.

"The strong shouldn't pick on the weak. It's wrong," I state firmly.

"Hey, survival of the fittest, right?" He asks, gives a slight smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

I stare at him for a long moment. "Right," I say finally because I can't think of another thing to say.

So I turn and walk away, a thousand alarms going off inside my abnormal, bird kid brain.

* * *

"Do you ever think that maybe it's just too good to be true?" I ask Fang in the dead of night. We had gone out for a really long flight, and now we were sitting at the top of a big tree, just soaking up the other's presence.

"What? You mean all of this?" He asks quietly, widening his arms to encompass this whole city that we now call home.

I swallow, nod.

His dark eyes flicker up to mine from his branch beneath me.

"Jeb always said that if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is," I say, eyes scanning the world around me.

"Jeb is dead… Max," Fang states firmly, giving me a strange look.

"I know," I say, but my voice catches in hesitation.

Fang leans closer to me, catches my eye. "But?"

"But we don't _know_ that he's dead! We can say he is all we want, but we don't _know_! We didn't _see_ it happen! We didn't _see _his body!" I explode, not being able to sit on this any longer. After the confrontation today in the hallway, my mind had been whirring. The strong picking on the weak. The strong picking on the weak. The strong picking on the weak. Always. So many memories have been slung around my mind since this morning that it's making me crazy, memories of being tortured, captured, hunted, hungry, again, and again, and again. But the scariest part is that the strong pick on the weak because the strong will win.

"Woah, woah, Max! Easy," Fang commands, standing on his branch and reaching for the hands that I yank away.

"No!" I snap. "Listen to me. Just think about it, Fang! Use your brain! If we don't know that Jeb is dead, just think of all the others out there that could have survived! All the other crazy scientists that want us dead…. What if there are other underground cities? Yeah the good guys were smart enough to build this one, but the evil guys are smart too. What if they knew? What if they prepared too?"

Fang stares at me, jaw tightening.

"They've been rebuilding above ground for months now. It won't be that long before it's ready. A year? Maybe a little more? What if it happens again? What if they're waiting for us?"

So yeah. Heard of paranoia? I has it.

Fang places his hands on my shoulders, looks me in the eyes. "What has gotten into you? You're talking crazy, sweetie."

"Our whole lives have been crazy. Why should now be any different?" I counter.

"Because it just is, Max. Things are _different_ now. You know that. Why are you suddenly afraid?" He asks softly, and just hearing the sound of voice begins to bring me down from my outburst.

"I'm not afraid," I snap automatically.

"Right," Fang agrees, his mouth turning up into a half smile. He reaches out, runs a hand through my hair. "You know what I think this is?" I don't answer, so he continues. "I think that for the first time in your life, things are okay, maybe even good, and it's scaring the hell out of you. Because you're right. In our past, if it seemed too good to be true then it was. But things are different now. You just haven't fully accepted it yet."

I sigh, lean my head back against the tree. My switch in position exposes my neck, and Fang takes advantage of that, brings his lips down on my tender spots. He kisses down my neck to my collar bone, and my hands come up tangle to themselves in his hair. Fang hits a sweet spot on my shoulder, and a small involuntary gasp leaves my lips. I can feel him smile into my skin. "Feeling better?" He murmurs.

I don't answer him, just yank him off my neck so I can bring my lips to his. He moans softly into my kiss, and I decide that that just might be one of my favorite sounds in this world. My tongue traces along his bottom lip until he opens his mouth a little wider and grants me entrance.

Our kiss grows hungry as well as his hands. He pushes me back into the tree, and the bark scratches my skin, but the physical pain is nothing compared to the emotional bliss that this moment brings.

His lips leave mine, just long enough to get my shirt over my head, before they are back on my skin, kissing down the length of my bare torso.

"You are so beautiful," He whispers.

And I throw my head back, lose myself in the sensations that Fang brings me, and decide that I could live and die in this moment.


	41. Chapter 41

**So I realize that I just updated like two days ago, but I could not sit on this one any longer. Not much to say. This chapter is quite long, so enjoy! Keep reviewing! You guys rock!**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!_ Especially on this chapter!_ I need to know your opinions!**

**KarleeRay**

"That's because you didn't subtract, nimrod!" I snap at Iggy, sitting next to me on the car ride to school.

"Max, you don't have to subtract those! You already have the freaking answer!" He shouts, beginning to write down the answer onto our partner math paper… the _wrong_ answer, I might add.

I slap the pencil out of his hand so that he can't keep writing.

"Oh really?" He asks, incredulous. "You are so mature."

"I'm not going to fail the paper just because you're being stubborn!"

"I'm being stubborn?" Iggy raises his pale eyebrows as if he can't believe what I just said. "Stubborn is your middle name!"

I start to fire back at him, but Mom stops me. "Alright enough you two! I've heard enough. No more arguing."

"Fine, Mom. I'll just let Iggy do the paper and have to re-take Basic Math Class next year all because Iggy is officially an idiot."

Okay, don't look at me like that. We all have our bad mornings.

"Max, don't be so dramatic," Mom chuckles.

I huff, turn out the window so I don't have to look at any of those cretins. Okay, that was harsh too. I take it back. The flock aren't cretins. But I don't need to see Fang's face to know the expression he would have, half amusement and half reprimanding. He would give me that annoying look, the one that says that he knows that I know I'm being a major pain in the ass but he isn't going to say anything about it. He'll just let me start to feel guilty.

The rest of the way to school is a tired silence. We were late getting home due to Gazzy's soccer game across the city, which, come to think of it, is probably the reason everyone is cranky.

As us older kids walk into school this morning, it is immediately clear that something is up. Clusters of kids stand together, backs turned, chattering excitedly while they all stare intently at a cell phone screen.

"Jessica!" A girl yells, waving her phone in the air. "Come here! You have to see this!" She giggles as another girl, presumably Jessica, joins her, and they huddle around the cell phone. A few moments later, Jessica's jaw drops, and she snickers. "Slut."

"What's going on?" Nudge asks, eyeing yet another group of kids surrounding a phone.

I shrug, unconcerned. "Probably just some pointless gossip."

Nudge nods, wringing her hands as if it's everything she can do not to run up and demand to know what's up.

We keep on walking, and I begin to pick up on the fact that as I walk by these clusters of people, the laughing gets a little quieter, backs get turned a little sharper, eyes flash in my direction like they always do, but no one can meet my eye.

"Did you see that?" I hiss to Fang.

He shrugs but says nothing.

Curiosity begins to creep up on me. Whatever is on those cell phones, it must be a pretty dang big deal.

"Max! Fang!" I turn to see Austin jogging up to us, face twisted with an angry expression. "Have you seen it?"

My eyes meet Fang's before I shake my head. "Seen what?"

Austin barks out a laugh vacant of humor. He looks at me. "Oh you're going to love this," he says, anger lacing his words.

He yanks out his cell phone, presses a few buttons. He casts a quick look at Nudge before dismissing whatever thought he had and handing me his phone. "Press play," He commands. And if it was anyone else bossing me around like that I would have done a double-take and laughed in their faces, but if you remember correctly, I like Austin. He and Carter made the perfect couple.

Speaking of Carter, I am surprised to see her face when I play the video. The phone focuses in on her. She's drunk obviously and only half-dressed, a t-shirt and underwear. She's sitting on a bed, smiling sexily at whoever was holding the camera.

"Come here, baby. Don't keep me waiting all night," She slurs, reaching towards the camera man.

There's an all too familiar laugh, and everything makes all too perfect sense as the camera is set down, aimed towards the bed, and Nolan walks into view, Nolan, as in the person responsible for getting Carter where she is now.

I feel the color drain from my face as I remember the night he crashed my mom's party trying to get Carter to leave with him. "Oh no," I whisper as I remember what was said during the confrontation.

_ 'Besides if you leave me, you think you can find someone better? Baby, I'll make sure everyone knows just what kind of trash you are. I've still got the video.'_

Carter had been so scared when he mentioned the video, she had tried to actually go with him because of it. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How could I forget something like that?!

Knowing there's nothing I can do, I force myself to focus on the video. My stomach sinks as I watch Nolan go over to Carter. Their mouths crash together, and he pushes her backwards onto the bed.

I feel sick. "Okay I've seen enough," I snap, knocking the phone out of everyone's view.

I turn to see Fang with a slightly disgusted look on his face, and Nudge and Ella looking sympathetic. I level my gaze with Austin's, not wanting to know, but needing to ask. "How long does it go on?"

Austin scoffs. "Long enough."

I nod, take a shaky breath. This could not be happening. Carter cannot know about this! It could ruin all of her progress!... But what if she comes back and relapses when she finds out?

My jaw tightens. Nolan. He better hope he never sees me in person again. He'll be sorry if he does.

Fang throws an arm over my shoulders. "Easy," He murmurs.

But I'm so angry I can barely see straight. Not my best friend. You don't mess with Maximum Ride's best friend. I push Fang's arm off of me and turn in the direction of a new mass of students snickering around a phone.

"Don't do it," Fang warns, but I'm already gone, marching straight up into the middle of the huddle.

"Give me that," I growl, snatching the kids' phones away from them, and they let me because who really wants to argue with Maximum Ride? No one. It takes me seconds to delete the video off of all of them. "You think that's funny?" I ask, voice dangerously low. No one answers me. They all just lower their eyes to the ground while their cheeks grow red. I snort. "Pathetic."

A shrill laugh makes me look up. Alexandra. Quite frankly, I've had more than enough of her lately. So when I see her and one of her followers pouring over a cell phone, I march up to them and slam my fist down on her phone as hard as I can. It drops to the floor, shatters. "Oops," I say tauntingly.

Alexandra stares down at her phone, jaw hanging open. "Are you serious?"

She takes a threatening step towards me, and I don't answer her question because I felt it was pretty obvious that I was, in fact, serious.

"You shouldn't have done that," She whispers, eyes boring into mine.

"Hit me," I breathe, balling my fists up. "Give me a reason to beat the hell out of you. Go ahead." I turn my cheek toward her. "Take your best shot."

For one splendid second, I think it's actually going to happen. Her eyes flash, and I think that she might just slap me, and then I might just have to rearrange her face in self defense.

But no. Strong arms encircle me from behind, pull me away from her. I could have screamed in frustration. I turn to find the interrupter to be Kace. "Do you have to ruin everything?" I snap.

"You and I both know that you can't afford a stunt like that right now. How many times have you been in detention this month?" Kace answers me calmly, as always, infuriatingly calmly.

I glance at Alexandra's retreating figure. "It would have been so worth it."

He stares at me for a moment, purses his lips. "You have issues."

My eyes snap back to Kace. "I don't have _issues_. I have _an issue_. And it's her."

Kace smirks. "Actually I think they call it _anger issues_," He corrects me before walking away. "Thank me later!" He calls over his shoulder, and I don't have time to tell him that I will be doing no such thing before the bell rings for class.

* * *

The next few periods went by quickly, mostly because my mind was elsewhere….. like where my best friend's sex tape was getting leaked around the school.

Now, I'm sitting in biology next to Fang where the teacher is droning on and on, interrupting my thought processes.

I raise my hand. "Can I use the restroom?"

Mister Chanel pauses in his lesson, gives me an annoyed look. "Is it an emergency?"

I nod.

"Make it quick, Miss Ride."

I massage my temples as I walk down the hallway, trying to think of the best way to approach this with Carter. Basically I had two options: approach it or don't approach it at all. Yeah, that's the best I got. Pretty much a lose-lose scenario either way.

In the bathroom, I stand in front of the mirror, splash my face with water.

I reach for my bathroom pass, but drop it in surprise when I hear a blood curdling scream.

What the hell?

I pause, listen. Cautiously, I approach the door, slowly pull it open. There's a girl standing in the middle of the hall, right in front of me. She looks like a dear in the headlights, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Please," She whispers. "Don't."

I open my mouth to ask her if she's okay, but the gunshot drowns out my voice. Once. Twice. Three times. She drops like a stone, crimson stains blossoming across her white shirt.

My jaw drops in shock, and I can't breathe. I slam the door shut. What is going on? Am I hallucinating? Did I get out of bed this morning?

Yes, Fang woke me up. I pinch my arm hard enough to draw blood. Definitely awake.

Breathing heavily, I sink to my knees, clutch my hands to my throat as if they can push in the air that I need.

Suddenly, I hear another round of gunshots. A door slams. The thundering of frantic feet pounding the floor ensues. Screaming. So much screaming.

Another gunshot. Another. Father away, but still there. My mind goes to Fang, to Iggy, and Nudge, and Ella. I spring up, swing open the door.

The school is in total chaos, everyone running and trampling each other, doing anything and everything they can to get out the front doors.

I shove my way into the mass of students, take a hard elbow to the gut, but that's the least of my problems. The mass of people is moving so fast, I'm practically being carried. I can only describe it as being in the ocean, caught in a wave that carries you with it regardless of where you want to go.

"Fang!" I shout, turning around, but even I can barely hear myself over the ruckus.

The only clear sound I can here is the sound of that damn gun going off again and again.

One minute I'm running, the next I'm falling. On my hands and knees, I look back to see that I tripped over the dead body of one of my classmates.

I want to sit there and stare in shock, can't. I move quickly to my feet, take off at a sprint.

"Where is he?!" Zane Esters shouts. "We can't go towards him!"

I grab him by the shoulders. "Who is it?" I demand. "Who's shooting?"

"It's Nathan! Nathan is shooting! He, oh God, everyone in his path!" He yells before turning to keep running.

I stand there, trying not to vomit while simultaneously trying to remember someone named Nathan.

We make it out to the main hall. From here, I can see people making it to safety. I take off towards the front doors, using my skinniness to my advantage, slipping between people. So close.

I keep my eyes open for my family, and for the first time in a long time, I find myself praying. To who? I don't really know. God, I guess?

I just need my family safe. Please don't take them. Please don't take them.

Suddenly, the mass of students turn, begin running in the opposite direction of the front doors, in the direction we came from.

"There he is! He's coming!"

I get trampled three times, and I'm positive three of my fingers are broken.

Alright Max. Think. You need a hiding place.

I decide to go to the locker room, pray that this Nathan kid doesn't think to go in there.

I'm running at a dead sprint when someone pops out from behind a chair, blocking my path. We both go tumbling down.

"Kace!" I cry when I see who it is.

I grab his hand. "Come on! We have to keep going!"

He gets up immediately, keeps pace beside me. I push open the door to the dressing room, only to backpedal when I see three bodies lying in pools of blood.

I turn, wanting to run away, but Kace blocks my path. "NO! No, we can't go back out that way!"

I struggle against him, desperately needing to be away from these dead or dying figures.

"Max," he breathes. "Listen."

My breath catches. The gunshots are so close, right through the wall, in the main hallway.

"We have to stay in here," Kace tells me grimly. He pushes me inside, shuts the door behind him.

The next ten minutes are the longest ones of my life. I can hear people dying just on the other side of this wall. I'm sitting next to three dead kids, kids that will never go home to Mom and Dad, kids that will never graduate or get married or have babies.

I sit extremely close to Kace, needing to feel the warmth of another alive and healthy body. Neither of us cry. Neither of us even say anything. We just sit in complete states of shock.

Eventually, the screams die down. We stop hearing the gun go off. I'm afraid to leave this room, but not because I'm afraid I'll get hurt. I'm afraid of what I'll find. What if my family didn't get out of this one? What if today is the day the flock finally loses?

"You ready to try?" Kace asks me softly.

I nod, and we stand together, make our way to the door.

I take a deep breath before I push open the door, step out into the main hall. I avert my eyes from the bodies on the ground. Blood. Everywhere.

Kace grabs my hand and begins to tug me toward the front doors. Through the glass, I can see kids covering the lawn, parents seeking out their children.

One second I'm running, the next I'm staring down the barrel of a gun.

Kace and I both tense. I raise my hands in surrender, and for the first time, get a glimpse of the kid behind the madness. Nathan.

I didn't know that was his name. I should have asked. I didn't even ask his name.

His grip tightens on the trigger, the gun aimed directly at my chest, and I thought, _I am going to die. Right here. Right now. I'll never get to hug my flock again or kiss Fang or tell my mom that I love her. This is it. It's over._

"Wait," I breathe. "I helped you. Remember? In the hall? I helped you."

Yes, this was the nerdy kid with glasses that I stood up for the other day, Dean Mickelson's son. I should have known. You never ignore your bird-kid alarms.

Nathan stops, ponders. He scratches his chin thoughtfully with the barrel of the gun. "Yes… I was wondering if you could tell me why you did that."

I hesitate. "I already told you."

His eyes meet mine from behind his glasses. "Maximum Ride, you have to have a better reason than that."

I swallow, so very aware of the gun that was pointed at my chest. I can feel Kace beside me, standing stiff as a board. "Because it wasn't fair. Three on one. It goes against my beliefs."

Nathan looks me squarely in the eyes. "You said the strong picking on the weak wasn't right. The strong picked on you, didn't they Max?"

Cautiously, I nod. "The erasers and whitecoats."

"But you aren't weak anymore. And now, neither am I," He smiles ruefully, glances around at the bodies on the floor as if they're a work of art.

He smiles again and lowers the gun.

Slowly, I begin to move towards the door. "Thank you," I whisper.

He looks up at me. "You. Not him." And faster than I can even blink he aims the gun at Kace and fires.

"No!" I yell, leaping back towards Kace.

I'm sure he's hit. I'm sure he is, but the next thing I know, he's barreling into me, shoving me towards the front doors. "Run Max!" He grunts.

At any moment, I expect to feel bullets searing into my back or legs, but the bullets never come.

We make it out the front doors and into the mess of people outside.

I make sure Kace is okay before sprinting into the crowd in search of my family. Frantically, I scream their names. I shove people out of the way, elbow my way through the mass of chaos.

I'm beginning to panic. I can't breathe. What if? Oh God, what if?

I lift my arms over my head while I run, hoping it will help the air flow.

A frantic woman stops me, grabs me by my shoulders. "Have you seen my son?" She sobs.

I shake my head quickly, slide out of her grasp. All around me, I see parents finding their kids, parents looking for their kids, kids looking for their parents, friends finding friends. It is utter madness.

I start to feel like I'm going to pass out, but just as I'm about to sink to my knees, I spot a dark shaggy head across the lawn. I stumble a few steps forward, wanting to cry out his name but I can't make a sound.

I watch him twirling in the crowd, head turning this way and that. It's one of the only times in my life I have seen Fang look frantic.

I begin hurtling towards him at full speed, and when I'm about halfway, he catches sight of me. I can see him exhale in relief.

He takes a few jogging steps towards me before I launch myself into his arms, wrap my legs around his torso. His arms come up around my butt to support my weight. Our fingers scratch at each other's clothing and skin, frantic, feeling the need to be closer and closer still. My hands wind into his hair roughly, and he holds me so tight that it hurts.

"Thank God," He whispers, and I thought I heard his voice crack, but this was Fang so I must have imagined it.

I nod, bring my lips to his forehead. He holds me for a few more moments before setting me down.

"We have to find the others," I tell him desperately.

I grab his hand, and we make our way through the mass of people, yelling the names of our family members.

"Nudge!" I screamed for the thirtieth time.

"Max!?"

My head jerks up when I hear my name.

I let go of Fang's hand. "Nudge," I whisper.

"Max where are you!?"

I can hear her. She's so close.

I shove my way through a few more people before I can finally see her.

"Max!" She sobs, running at me. Her clothes are covered in blood, and I feel my face go pale. "It's not mine," She tells me through her tears. "I drug someone out…. But it was too late." She crumples in my arms, and I scoop her up as Fang comes up behind me.

"Hey Max!" I turn to see a girl I've never even seen before, running up to me. "Your mom is over there." She points. "She's looking for you."

I nod, then take off in the general direction of where the girl pointed.

A few minutes later, Mom comes into view along with Iggy and Ella.

I feel a relief so deep I can scarcely stand it. We're all okay. For once, we're all okay.

My mom sweeps all of us into tear soaked hugs, and then we share a group hug. My fingers desperately hold to Iggy's, so unbelievably happy that he is okay.

It almost feels wrong to get into the car, to leave while parents are looking for children that they won't find. But my mom insisted that we go home, said we didn't need to see anymore of this.

We pick up the younger kids from elementary school where they had been watching the news and had no idea who was okay or not. Needless to say, there was a very tearful reunion.

Mom made enchiladas that night because they're a flock favorite, but no one really felt up to eating. No one felt like going to their rooms either. It was like we all needed to feel each other near.

We decided to make this huge pallet in the living room, so that everyone could sleep in there.

I curl up next to Fang on the floor at about two thirty in the morning, and I reach my foot out just far enough so that I can feel Nudge on my other side. Fang wraps his arms around me, buries his nose deep into my hair. He murmurs incoherently into my ear, and the sound is like a lullaby. I press close to him, put my lips to his bare chest.

I thought I was going to lose him today. I thought I might lose all of them today.

For the first time all day, I let the tears slide out of my eyes. Fang feels the sudden wetness on his chest, lifts my chin up. He doesn't say anything. There's nothing he can say. So he just kisses away the tears that steadily leak from my eyes.


End file.
